Review by Lawrence Stillman on November 30, 2023.

Dying Fetus has been my go-to brutal death metal band for a while, mostly thanks to their balance of excellent brutal death metal riffs, mosh-friendly sections, and groovy breakdowns. While their last album was a dud mostly for its long song lengths that led to some bloat and aimlessness, this album is what I would show to those who want to get into brutal death metal, showing them it's not all slams and breakdowns. Being the band that pioneered the Baltimore style of brutal death metal, you should already expect that this band does not sound like your midwest brutal death metal band, DF has an increased focus on technicality compared to other brutal death metal bands while still keeping things simple for fans that want to just simply mosh, which is why DF is my recommended gateway band for brutal death metal.

This album plays like any other Dying Fetus album but is more refined, just like any band that dabbles in their respective genre for a long time. While this might seem like a detriment to some (because of material repetition), the riffs here do separate themselves from previous albums. But even without that, what Dying Fetus (and bands that took influence from them like Criminal Element and Misery Index) played here is still unmistakably brutal death metal. Really excellent brutal death metal. All the riffs here are very catchy and interesting, and the same can be said for the breakdowns (not the breakdowns from -core bands, but actual death metal breakdowns like the one in Suffocation's Liege of Inveracity). While the album is short (37.5 minutes), the number of riffs here makes use of almost every single second of the album's run time, making it an album full of killer material with no filler.

The album also increased the presence of technical guitar solos, riffs and basslines compared to their previous album, Descend Into Depravity which is something I liked since I am already accustomed to even more technical bands like Origin. The album also changes up their sounds frequently enough to keep things interesting throughout its runtime, constantly going back and forth from groovy breakdowns, to mid-paced rhythm sections, to noodly solos, all while not sounding overly convoluted like prog/tech bands that went all in on musical expression and forgot that they are making things too inaccessible (looking at you post-Mike Portnoy Dream Theater).

The instrumentation/production are also quite interesting; it uses panning to differentiate the three instruments here. John Gallagher (vocals/guitar) on the left channel, Sean Beasley (secondary vocals/bass) on the right channel, while the drums stay squarely in the middle, also utilizing panning to make the hi-hat/left toms/snare respond to the left channel while the crash/ride cymbal and right side toms respond to the right channel. This gave Dying Fetus a fuller sound and a soundscape as rich as a five-piece band (like they used to be back in the day). Another result of this production decision is making the bass more audible, as the bass guitar gets its own audio channel to express itself on, and I think this is required as Sean's basslines are just as catchy and important as Gallagher's riffs and gave the band its current sound that they are praised for. Also the drums don't sound triggered at all, which is a plus for me.

This is definitely their best album up until now, and I hope their upcoming album can dethrone this one.

Highlights: All songs

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Death8699 on February 4, 2019.

I chose to review this one of their latest because I thought that it was catchier and sort of the essence of a better Dying Fetus-esque vibe than their current release. Not to mention that I like the production on here, it's solid. The vocals have never been my favorite listening moments in Dying Fetus albums, but they want to keep it underground and I have no problem in saying "okay, this is how you want to do it, you can change it up here and there." John Gallagher and Sean Beasely trade off on vocals so it's variety, at least.

What's so gripping about this release is the music above everything else. Dying Fetus just tears it up in the guitar department. The arpeggios whizzing up and down the fret-board alongside thick guitar artistry tempos really are all over the place. But the execution of the drums along the guitar is what makes this a gem. I don't think I've liked a Dying Fetus album more than this one. Honestly, I don't care that they sing about morbid topics such as hatred and violence mixed with some flirty political views. This is brutal death metal, they can write what they deem fitting to write about.

I cannot get enough of the guitars and energy. They rip it up and the vocals keep the music sounding darker than it actually is. So yeah, it's from every aspect from what's been talked about the band forming in Maryland circa 1991 alongside members comping and going in the band, it seems that they have their strongest, most gripping lineup since forming. 

The blast beats I can deal with since I favor bands like Napalm Death during the Mick Harris (ex-Napalm Death/Defecation) era of drummers and totally am into the grind Napalm Death days where it was just raw. At the time Dying Fetus formed, ND's "Harmony Corruption" was released (I believe that year, 1991). So they tackled their influences in the grind mode but strain it deeper with more memorable arpeggios and tremolo picking that's almost robotic. The drums have been criticized on here (Reign Supreme) yet I think the snare is just fine. 

Altogether, we've touched on the production, the music, the lyrical concepts, the originality in songwriting (to a certain extent) and the vocals. There's no reason why this album is nothing closer to perfect than anything in their entire discography. Check out "Subjected To A Beating", "In the Trenches", "Devout Atrocity" and "The Blood of Power." In the words of Chuck Schuldiner (RIP): "keep the metal faith alive." Get this one, NOW!

Rating: 10 out of 10