Sunday, March 1, 2009

Beheading Machine - Stillbirth Civilisation EP (2009)

Beheading Machine is a choppy, technical young death metal band out of Poland, and they are wisely offering this debut EP for free on their MySpace. Fans of riff-heavy brutality in the vein of later Decapitated should definitely check this out, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

The band carefully balances its proficient riffing with a mosh pit work ethic, slicing up some pummeling grooves with rapid tech death passages. The first track "The Life of the Dead Man" is an exercise in slamming, almost mathematical precision, with busy guitars and counter thrashing off the centric pit groove. "This is Chaos" picks up for some faster, frenetic grooving, with some truly twisted riffs that flow forth without restraint. "Hatewar" is a little faster still which a frantic thrash pace anchored in brutal double bass. "The Cipher of Life" is another slower yet extremely busy track, math death carefully calculated to provide feelings of tension and bounce. "Six" ends the carnivorous moshing romp with some insane technical dual riffing and more of those breakdowns which an cause even the most restrained human being to feed the impulse to mechanical violence.

The sound is quite professional for this release, and this should certainly work in the band's favor as they seek out a record deal. About the only complaint I could possibly have with Beheading Machine is that the vocals, while brutal, often lose me. He's got a decent enough delivery which is not unlike Decapitated, but a little more diversity to his selection of tones and lyrical lines would go a long way to catch up with the finesse of the music. Still, for a first offering this is quite nice and should please fans of brutal and technically-minded death amidst the pit.

Verdict: Win [7/10]


http://www.myspace.com/beheadingmachineband

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