Review by JD on August 7, 2012.

There are times when I dread hearing some lone person or duo that has ‘recorded’ in their basement or front rooms. Don’t get me wrong, some are good, but there are those pretty bad, hideous bands out there that make crappy metal that should have never seen the light of day in the first place. Floridian Death Metal duo Never To Arise is one of those basement bands. Let us see what we have.

Michael Kilborn and Gordon Denhart make up the St. Petersburg twosome, and seem to play a borderline version Technical Death Metal like Suffocation and older DM like Death as well. Mr. Kilborn handles the main guitars and bass while his partner in metallic crime Mr. Denhart does vocals, guitars and programs the drums... and that is where I slip into high gear - or coma.

Getting past the ridiculously amateurish cover art that made me roar with laughter many times, I found that Never To Arise can play more than just acceptable metal. I love the infectiously heavy guitars as they pummel you into submission with its acrid lines and razor sharp solos, not to mention that the bass weaves its low end rumbling mayhem in to your cortex. With all that heavy and entrail painted goodness, the letdown of the album is not the demonic vocals but the cartoon like programmed drums that just fails to add any heart into the music and detracts from the wonderful gore covered music.

If Never To Arise got a few more players including a good HUMAN drummer, this would be on so many top ten lists around the world. As "Hacked To Perfection" stands, no one could ever overlook the digital staleness of drum programming that leaks through the music like a flood and this project falls from a possible ‘9' or better for a rating to what this album truly deserves in this state.

Too bad for the Floridian Death-dealers, this album could have blown my mind with a very good drummer anchoring the music and letting their massive sound live. The real musicians do let the music come, but the computer drummer left a bad taste in my mouth like a dose of ipecac... anyone got some strong Scope©?

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8.5
Atmosphere: 6
Production: 6 (drum machines must die!!)
Originality: 7
Overall: 7

Rating: 6.9 out of 10