Dehumanized (USA) - Controlled Elite (2012)

Country: USA (New York City, New York)
Released on: Comatose Music

Tracklist:

1. Bloodties 04:15
2. Body Colonizers 02:29
3. Soiled 02:39
4. Set in Stone 03:48
5. Controlled Elite 04:11
6. Immorally Reborn 03:02
7. His Burden 03:31
8. Root of Evil 03:30
9. None Shall Remain 03:09
10. Man vs. Man 02:33
11. Condemned 07:32
40:39

After 14 years the NYDM band Dehumanized has finally released their new album Controlled Elite on Comatose Music. Having seen them this year on NRW Death Fest in Germany I was really excited that this band was still active and working on a new album.
This new album continues where Prophecies Foretold once ended and adds some positive things to it as well. Dehumanized have finally got the fat, clear and just unbelievably heavy sound they always deserved. Production is just neat and makes this record so intense and brutal. Trademark Dehumanized riffs in the New York vein, some pretty classic Death Metal sounding soli spread into here and there, which surprised me a bit. Didn't really remember that on the predecessor really. One thing I will never understand and that I find almost as annoying as long samples are hidden tracks like the last track Condemned on this record. Four minutes of silence, then the track kicks in. Unnecessary and annoying although the song itself is a beast. The new vocalist Centrone somehow seemed to me as a mixture between Mullen (Suffocation) and Gallagher (Dying Fetus) and delivers a crushing and absolutely commited and intense performance. I'm not a fan of high pitched vocals and there are some in here, but nothing I would really bother about really. The whole album just seems so organic and dynamic, keeping NYDM and the legacy of Dehumanized real, yet sounding fresh and new. Riffs just roll you over in this tank like manner, that provoke you to just jump around and freak out. This is it.

A real pleasure to listen to this album, that does everything right and satisfies me as a fan of their first album to the fullest. Dehumanized are back.

90%

Absurdist (USA) - Absurdist (2012)

Country: USA (Frederick, Maryland)
Released on: Lost Apparitions Records

Tracklist:

1. Consuming Disbelievers 03:25
2. Disavowing the Myth of Law 03:00
3. Incorporeal Gestation 04:26
4. Anthropocentric Decline 03:17
5. Ascetic Paragon 02:58
17:06

I recently discovered the Brutal Death outfit Absurdist from Maryland and their new self-titeled EP and I was stoked. First really positive thing I recognized was the great sound. Crystal clear instruments. The drums hammering, the vocals absolutely brilliant. A pleasant surprise compared with a lot of bad muddy sounding EPs nowadays. The vocals are understandable, yet absolutely crushing and brutal. Somehow lets me think of a brutalized version of Suffocation's singer Mullen. Earth shaking vocal performance for sure. The music does have a bit of an old school vein, having some pounding New York styled riffs being interrupted by straight forward blast parts, yet letting room for some technical disharmonic insertions and a nice heavy metal steyled solo in Incorporeal Gestation. Absolutely crazy. The song writing is brilliant, always very dynamic and thought out. Pace changes going from blast attacks to groove ridden NYDM parts to mid tempo parts accompanied by a nice guitar line. The over all sound is just aggressive, brutal and clear.

The sound of a full-lenght, the musical strenght of a year old band. Wish more bands would put out such brilliant EPs. Highly recommended material. Thanks to Aaron from Absurdits who gave me a copy of this.

88%