Review by JD on September 26, 2008.

Upon seeing the unusual moniker this band had tagged themselves with, I was instantly intrigued to say the least. I was looking so forward to hearing what this Swedish Death/Grind act was going to be offering up in the way of their music... the name seemed so promising and the cover art was amazingly cool and macabre as all hell as well.... then I made the mistake of sitting down to listen to it.

The first thing that struck me was Stench of Flesh was not recorded very well. To say the truth, it actually sounded really horrible in some spots. The production that is throughout this opus really makes it all feel rather weighted down.. hiding the fact that this band is trying so hard to be better than just a, generic Death Metal act which are beginning to glut the metal underground. There is no new ground broken here... and that is perhaps the saddest thing..

Wading through the mud and mire of this literally flawed project... all I got out of it was regurgitated riffs and basic ideas that others are already spitting out... all of which seemed to be played by people that who were trying very hard, despite whoever was in the control room. That is where I give Splattered Mermaids a whole lot of credit though... it is clear that they do push themselves to play as good as they can, but they are seemingly lacking some real direction to any of it. Good news is that alone holds a great amount of hope for the band in the future. Maturity will help that out in time.

It is worth a listen or two perhaps, but if your looking for something a little different in your Death metal... this CD is probably not for you, but keep an eye on them... this might change as they mature musically.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 4
Originality:4
Overall: 5

Rating: 5.0

Review by JD on September 26, 2008.

Upon seeing the unusual moniker this band had tagged themselves with, I was instantly intrigued to say the least. I was looking so forward to hearing what this Swedish Death/Grind act was going to be offering up in the way of their music... the name seemed so promising and the cover art was amazingly cool and macabre as all hell as well.... then I made the mistake of sitting down to listen to it.

The first thing that struck me was Stench of Flesh was not recorded very well. To say the truth, it actually sounded really horrible in some spots. The production that is throughout this opus really makes it all feel rather weighted down.. hiding the fact that this band is trying so hard to be better than just a, generic Death Metal act which are beginning to glut the metal underground. There is no new ground broken here... and that is perhaps the saddest thing..

Wading through the mud and mire of this literally flawed project... all I got out of it was regurgitated riffs and basic ideas that others are already spitting out... all of which seemed to be played by people that who were trying very hard, despite whoever was in the control room. That is where I give Splattered Mermaids a whole lot of credit though... it is clear that they do push themselves to play as good as they can, but they are seemingly lacking some real direction to any of it. Good news is that alone holds a great amount of hope for the band in the future. Maturity will help that out in time.

It is worth a listen or two perhaps, but if your looking for something a little different in your Death metal... this CD is probably not for you, but keep an eye on them... this might change as they mature musically.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 4
Originality:4
Overall: 5

Rating: 5.0

Review by Fran on January 10, 2022.

SARS-CoV-2​ pandemic forced bands to exhibit their performances through digital platforms, live or prerecorded. Blasfemia Fest was the Costa Rican attempt to do so. I “attended” the premier of the show and was delighted with the visual quality of the material, edited and recorded by Hexagon Productions. The audio had some issues, especially in the set of the first band on the rooster -“Multiverse Agony”- but all in all I thought it was a good show. This single is an extract from Requiem Of Malediction’s performance.

I would define ROM’s brand of black metal as a mixture between Marduk’s "Panzer Division" and Dark Funeral’s "Diabolis Interium". Lots of blast beats, a menacing sense of melody and the use of 7 string guitars broadens their range. This song in particular features tetric arpeggios and slower mysterious interludes that add a lot of dynamic to the band’s sound in general, as they contrast with the traditional upbeat blast mayhem. It’s my favorite song from them to this date. The only technical issue with the track is the fact that it wasn’t mixed properly and it hurt the guitars, which could have been bigger if a processor or an interface with a good preamp were used.

The band’s mastermind and main songwriter and lyricist is Jiangshi, the bassist. That being said, you can expect a bass oriented mix as on any Iron Maiden live album for example. I don’t have any problem with that, as a bassist myself and considering Jiangshi’s outstanding ability. Even if this isn’t the final production of their new material (post-The First Adversarial Manifesto, their first EP) this track shows a pleasing improvement in terms of composition; more mature, balanced and multidimensional in general. I’m eager to hear what they are going to release next, to be honest.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Fran on January 10, 2022.

SARS-CoV-2​ pandemic forced bands to exhibit their performances through digital platforms, live or prerecorded. Blasfemia Fest was the Costa Rican attempt to do so. I “attended” the premier of the show and was delighted with the visual quality of the material, edited and recorded by Hexagon Productions. The audio had some issues, especially in the set of the first band on the rooster -“Multiverse Agony”- but all in all I thought it was a good show. This single is an extract from Requiem Of Malediction’s performance.

I would define ROM’s brand of black metal as a mixture between Marduk’s "Panzer Division" and Dark Funeral’s "Diabolis Interium". Lots of blast beats, a menacing sense of melody and the use of 7 string guitars broadens their range. This song in particular features tetric arpeggios and slower mysterious interludes that add a lot of dynamic to the band’s sound in general, as they contrast with the traditional upbeat blast mayhem. It’s my favorite song from them to this date. The only technical issue with the track is the fact that it wasn’t mixed properly and it hurt the guitars, which could have been bigger if a processor or an interface with a good preamp were used.

The band’s mastermind and main songwriter and lyricist is Jiangshi, the bassist. That being said, you can expect a bass oriented mix as on any Iron Maiden live album for example. I don’t have any problem with that, as a bassist myself and considering Jiangshi’s outstanding ability. Even if this isn’t the final production of their new material (post-The First Adversarial Manifesto, their first EP) this track shows a pleasing improvement in terms of composition; more mature, balanced and multidimensional in general. I’m eager to hear what they are going to release next, to be honest.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Fran on January 10, 2022.

SARS-CoV-2​ pandemic forced bands to exhibit their performances through digital platforms, live or prerecorded. Blasfemia Fest was the Costa Rican attempt to do so. I “attended” the premier of the show and was delighted with the visual quality of the material, edited and recorded by Hexagon Productions. The audio had some issues, especially in the set of the first band on the rooster -“Multiverse Agony”- but all in all I thought it was a good show. This single is an extract from Requiem Of Malediction’s performance.

I would define ROM’s brand of black metal as a mixture between Marduk’s "Panzer Division" and Dark Funeral’s "Diabolis Interium". Lots of blast beats, a menacing sense of melody and the use of 7 string guitars broadens their range. This song in particular features tetric arpeggios and slower mysterious interludes that add a lot of dynamic to the band’s sound in general, as they contrast with the traditional upbeat blast mayhem. It’s my favorite song from them to this date. The only technical issue with the track is the fact that it wasn’t mixed properly and it hurt the guitars, which could have been bigger if a processor or an interface with a good preamp were used.

The band’s mastermind and main songwriter and lyricist is Jiangshi, the bassist. That being said, you can expect a bass oriented mix as on any Iron Maiden live album for example. I don’t have any problem with that, as a bassist myself and considering Jiangshi’s outstanding ability. Even if this isn’t the final production of their new material (post-The First Adversarial Manifesto, their first EP) this track shows a pleasing improvement in terms of composition; more mature, balanced and multidimensional in general. I’m eager to hear what they are going to release next, to be honest.

Rating: 7 out of 10