Erytrosy - Delight (2001)

Sex and brain surgery. These seem to be two of the lyrical fascinations of Erytrosy's 2001 sophomore Delight. A strange album title when one considers the sounds on display, and an even stranger cover image for the death metal genre; but hey, if it were any indicator that the band was moving in a more experimental direction after their rather standard (if ahead of the curve) brutal death debut Incomplete Minds, then it would have my full support. Sadly, not only does Delight fail to mix up the aesthetics of its predecessor, but after five years, one might have been justified in having higher expectations...than this. The Slovakians have spun off into a brand of brutal, grind-tinted death metal that is far less interesting, and ultimately a banal exercise in futile, dime a dozen riffs.

You've basically got your standard 4xchug -> tremolo burst intensity here, which grows quite old in a very short time. I guess a good comparison would be Napalm Death's 90s output, with a bit of Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse and Internal Bleeding thrown in, but Erytrosy is not quite as riffy. In fact, you could pay me to listen to this album a few dozen times and I would have a hard time remembering a single chord progression, that's how generic and below the radar this music is. The vocals sound a bit more like Mark 'Barney' Greenway than they did on the debut; not that they were unique on the debut, but this style has always tended to bore me after a few lines, and it's just another of the underwhelming factors in what makes Delight such an also-ran. I can't exactly fault the band's aggression level here, because some of the spastic death/thrash punchlines they weave off the chug-chug setups are appreciably nimble, but the notes played seemed to just have been safely snatched from whatever first idea comes to mind. There's not a heck of a lot of 'musicality' here aside from men playing death metal on instruments. The lead sequences are intensified, but not enough to save the rhythms leading up to them...

The album also sounds like arse, and in fact it seems as if even the limited budget of the debut might have been floundered away. Guitars are brasher and noisier, and the drums have a lot more crash and burn to them. But both the treble and bass dynamics of the rhythm guitar seem out of step, and it honestly sounds like a well rigged live performance or a demo than a studio effort. Compiled with the lackluster songwriting that seems like a step back from the brutal aerobics of Incomplete Minds, it becomes a difficult disc to sit through for more than a few minutes. There's just nothing of interesting occurring anywhere. No highlights, no riffs that urge me to strain my neck in response. Yeah, the bass playing still gets busy, and sounds decent against the other instruments; and the 26 minute play length ensures that it's not a whole lot of material to become exhausted with. It's not necessarily an 'awful' album, or an abject failure, but it's difficult to justify when there were by 2001 about 15 years of great death metal records to pore over. I'd take the Slovakians' debut over this any day, and I don't blame them for putting the group on an indefinite hiatus after this.

Verdict: Indifference [5/10]

Erytrosy - Incomplete Minds (1996)

Considering their instant, automatic appeal to the not-always-so-picky brutal death metal audience, I'm surprised Slovakia's Erytrosy is not brought up in more conversations regarding their chosen niche. After all, by the mid 90s, successful acts like Suffocation, Deicide and Cannibal Corpse were still generating traction in the underground. Cryptopsy was just getting out its smashing sophomore None So Vile that would prove so influential. Bands like Dying Fetus and Deeds of Flesh were releasing their debut full-lengths this same year. It all boils down to the fact that this was simply coming out of an obscure market, perhaps not readily available to anyone who wasn't specifically searching for it. Not that the Slovakians were bringing anything to the table that you couldn't have heard from a combination of the above, but Incomplete Minds is quite a tight, prescient, 'complete' package that I think a lot of today's young thugs might enjoy checking out.

This is essentially a very balanced mesh of old and new school techniques that struck right about the same time that the notion of a 'brutal death metal' subdivision was taking off. Loads of surgical, chugging patterns span a number of octaves, while you've got the requisite palm mute to squeal ratio and a lot of pure tremolo picked progressions that felt more archaic. The general tempo of the music is heavily reminiscent of the first four Cannibal Corpse records, with that same death/thrash zeal; but I heard quite a lot of riffs redolent of Effigy of the Forgotten. The chugging was also similar to Deicide's eponymous debut or its followup, Legion, but even more dynamic. Incomplete Minds features a lot of abrupt shifts in tempo, from middle paced grooves to steady blasting, but I can't say that they always feel important or intelligent; rather just an attempt to bewilder the listener into the precision with which the musicians can bounce back and forth while maintaining a consistent, pummeling clamor that makes only a tangential use of melody and atmosphere. A few lighter, progressive passages are strewn through the landscape (like the intro to "Ancient Structure of Endoparasites"), probably evidence of a Death/Cynic/Pestilence influence, but they're exceptions.

Unfortunately, like a lot of the earlier material from bands like Deeds of Flesh, Suffocation, Lividity or Internal Bleeding, I felt as if the production here was rather dry. The bass and treble of the distorted rhythm guitar doesn't generate much of a dichotomy, just a muddling percussion with enough clarity to distinguish the individual note patterns. Leads have a bit of airiness, but are likewise too straightforward to condition the bridges and melodies with an appreciable atmosphere. The drumming is fucking crazy, with ample use of the double bass drums for both blasting and slower paces, but I though the cymbals were rather mundane, the snare a bit too poppy, and the bass drum and guitar often intersperse with one another too their detriment. That said, the bassist is excellent here, offering great contrast to the melodies and enough volume that you could just follow him through most of the album. The vocals are a flat, guttural alternative to Frank Mullen or Craig Pillard, but you'll occasionally get this salacious, alien snarl that pokes through their syllabic bluntness. Nothing unique, but effective enough thanks to the constant riff transitions.

I though the industrial/ambient intro and outro pieces were too close to one another; on one hand it creates a sense of consistency and completion, mirrored bookends, but since Erytrosy doesn't engage in this sort of content through the death metal itself, they feel somewhat alienated. Would have been better to include more of this through the slower groove sections. Incomplete Minds also lacks truly engrossing riff composition; the patterns were fairly fresh for their time, but there are few 'money shots' where the guitars reach an orgasmic level of mutilation and inspiration. Probably another reason, aside from its relative obscurity, that this didn't dial the Slovakians onto the international underground radar grid quite as loudly as their US or European contemporaries. All told, though, this is a tight and reasonably ambitious debut album, which lives up to the rather intriguing cover art collage, and if you really love this end of the genre, and want to visit or revisit a precursor to the sounds you've become accustomed to through the releases of labels like Sevared, Comatose, or Amputated Vein, exhume and enjoy.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

Perversity - Ablaze (2011)

Slovakians Perversity have been steadily hammering away through 17 years and numerous line-up changes, but they only became really active in the 21st century as they started to put out their full-length efforts. Their style has been pretty typical of the brutal field, with the obvious influences of Suffocation, Immolation, Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse and other US pioneers. However, they've made minor tweaks and alterations through the course of the first three albums, and while I can't say I fancied any of those releases, Ablaze feels like a tighter beast altogether, fashioning their slightly technical approach into a cohesive, dynamic range of options that keep the listener's attention even if there are precious few individual riffs of note.

Admittedly, this is a bit of a dry record in terms of its production, and not as savage as the last one Beyond the Reach of Heaven, but here the Slovaks compensate with a percussive approach in which the bass pops and surges along to the constant tantrums of the guitars. There are a lot of jerking, lurching rhythms here which create a clinical overtone to the music redolent of the 90s Pestilence (Testimony of the Ancients) in "Hailing the Thieves of Souls" or "Palace of Skin", perhaps with a bit of Gorguts in "Devoted to Perdition". A lot of start/stop, drop of a dime precision goes into their playing and the result is something that must be fun in the live setting where the audience must flail about radically to match the rhythmic variety. That said, I tend to feel that whenever this band blasts along with muted tremolos, they lose a bit of what catches the ear, so I was far more into the slower or mid-paced sequences over which Juraj Handzus' repressed growling feels more open and spacious.

The lyrics here are pretty good, and deal with a lot of the human sin and occult topics that the band have hit upon in the past. Despite the pretty straightforward, down to earth production, there's a tangible feeling of darkness pervading the material. I quite enjoyed the piano/synthesizer pieces like the intro "Reach of Hell" or the opening to "Necrophiliac Beast". Some of the tracks are clearly stronger than others, like the closer "Blood of Hastur" which seems to have a lot more to offer than the first few cuts, and there are not a whole lot of exemplary guitar lines which stand to memory, but what Perversity offer is a balance of choppy grooves, aggression and musicianship that at least hangs on to the attention, even if they don't exactly knock it out of the park, and offer little to truly distinguish themselves from so many hundreds of bands in their medium. All told, if you're into similar acts like their countrymen Craniotomy or Dementor, or really any brutal semi-tech death internationally, then Ablaze could be worth your time.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (melting the canopy of heaven)

http://www.perversityband.com/

Diftery - Trepa-Nation (2011)

You might not think it, but Slovakia has long been a hotbed for death metal, particularly the brutal variety. Alright, perhaps not a hotbed, but at least a lukewarm futon, producing decent acts known by the names of Craniotomy, Erytrosy, Pervserity and so forth. One of the latest to bear the -y suffix with pride is Diftery, who released a debut (Corrupting the Evolution) through Grodhaisn. They return five years later through Amputated Vein with their sophomore Trepa-Nation, a virtual annex of just about any descriptor you could possibly hope for from modern death: brutal, slamming chug force offset by intense explosions of speed, proficient arpeggios and lead work and grunted vocals. Diftery also forsakes a lot of the expected, gory lyrics to focus on dystopian social issues.

Tone-wise, this sophomore is notably more controlled than its predecessor. Corrupting the Evolution's charms were limited to the typical squealing and moshing, perhaps, but it had this enormous sound to it like you were having corpses shoveled upon you by unfeeling construction equipment. Trepa-Nation, by comparison, is very clean and tidy sounding, which is beneficial to those straining to hear the band's myriad leads, but definitely dials down the overall crushing effect that one might have been looking forward to. That said, there is simply so much going on here that you have no choice but to listen through a few times. Particular standouts include "Earthfall" with its wiry, winding cleans that burst into punishing streams of muted discord, or "Aeon of Slavery" which in my opinion bears the lion share of the better riffs on the album, often sounding like Death's progressive 90s era material delivered at hyper pace with methodic but effective sledgehammer grunt vocals. "Legacy of the Fallen Race" is likewise impressive.

Alas, there are some songs here which simply don't meet muster, like the slamming but soon forgotten "Apophis (Sensations of Absolute Power)" or most of the first half of the album. Surely, most of the compositions contain at least a few good ideas, and Diftery execute them with the effortless precision of professionals who can play technically close to the level of almost anyone else in the death metal field. The real issue, though, is that no matter how fluid the band seems, it all feels like pre-trampled terrain, a union of Necrophagist, Deeds of Flesh, Cryptopsy and other bands who arguably pioneered some of the genres presently enduring tropes. As a result, I didn't get much out of this album aside from a thorough beating and a handful of riffs that I wanted to revisit. These Slovakians are beyond competent, but Trepa-Nation has been built only for those seeking the ceaseless acrobatics and technical impressions of unrest.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/diftery

Mortally Infected - The Age of Eclipsed Humanity EP (2008)

Normally you'll find me writing off this style of brutal slamming death metal since so few bands are able to pull it off while keeping it exciting, or writing riffs that are worthwhile. But this debut EP from Mortally Infected is an exception. Stylistically you'll find it no different than a thousand other releases of this overpopulated genre, but the five tracks presented are enjoyable enough that I had no desire to press 'stop'.

"Keep it Fucking Brutal" (yes, that's the name of the first track) begins with a creepy sample and then it's like a boot kicks you straight in the face. Hilarious and awesome throughout the blasts and the breakdowns. The vocals of Vuldzar are guttural to the max, though there is the occasional presence of barking, sneering counter-vocals. The second track "Rise of Apathy" is even more brutal, with some bouncing groove to it, and a chug breakdown that succeeds in making you want to not love thy neighbor (preferably with a tire iron or crowbar). "Sickness of the Soul" starts with a slower, grooving menace akin to mid-era Sepultura. The band's namesake track "Mortally Infected" is probably the most technical, the fastest on the EP, and the album closes with "Not of This World", a similar sounding tune.

This is a new band that the guttural legions will want to keep their ears on, it's a talented enough debut to stir up some buzz, though the band does nothing new here. While I can't really give this a huge recommendation, it was far from painful to listen through, unlike so many other releases of this style. Keep it fucking brutal!

Verdict: Slammin' Indifference [6/10]

http://www.myspace.com/mortallyinfected

Dementor - Faithless (2008)

Slovakians Dementor began their brutal warpath 20 years ago, this is their six full-length album and offers more of the same brutal chug to blast alternation you expect from a school of death meal akin to the sounds of Hate Eternal, Vile and others talented enough to just barely raise their hacksaws above the crop of faceless, brutal gore soaked masses choking this style of its life since the mid 90s.

That is to say the album delivers what is expected of it, but little more. It's brutal, it's fast, it's got enough of a technical element to spin some heads. None of the individual tracks really stand forth, it could be a single song and I wouldn't know the difference. Okay one song is called "Kettle of Evil", and I like that. The name of the song, at least.

If you're one to salivate over every brutal death metal record to come down the pipe, with little interest in dynamic and interesting songwriter or any sort of actual evil vibes to the riffs, this is probably another in a long line of average releases you will relish. If not, skip it.

Verdict: Indifference [5/10]

http://www.dementor.nfo.sk/