Review Summary: Comedic Grind Classic…..
Carrying voracious riffing, insurmountable drumming and enough dual vocal attacks to shake a stick at, Man Made Predator was one of many grind albums marking my stalwart enthusiasm into grind. While remaining a true flavor of choice,
Leng Tch’e provides added song structure to please others still weary of the genre flaws. Still, many will be hard pressed to find anything as memorable and entertaining as this offering and ever since its 2003 release, I still find gratuitous replay value in this Belgian stallion.
Roughly translated as Death by A Thousand Cuts,
Leng Tch’e extends a welcome hand to those not fully acquainted with their brand of rhythmic trouncing. The playful high and low end growls of former vocalist Boris Conelissen and Sven Caluwe augments a type of versatility that goes unmatched in comparison to many of its peers. The added element of Evil Dead, Big Lebowski, and other noteworthy media samples provides quick-witted hilarity to off topic subjects involving religious fanatics, social paradigms connecting personal image, hippies and of course the stereotypical trends within the metal community. More directly, ‘Sick Brutal Gore Bastard’ commentating on the obsession with violence and sadism in metal….. comedically eloquent in its own regard.
While Man Made Predator may require a steady acclimation to fully appreciate, there is an abundant mixture of grind, death metal, stoner rock, metalcore and sludge. The technical riffing on ‘Five Minutes Of Fame’ is nicely contrasted with the slower, doom riffing of ‘The Happy Retard’, proving that speed and technically are not the only rudiments dictating a band’s merits. However, this still plays as a grind album, thus demonstrating the same flaws and weaknesses of many of its counterparts. Yes, some of the segments do tend to run together and of course the first half will run heavier and more memorable than the second. Regardless, even after years of replay and countless releases following this monster, I still find myself running back for more.
Ok then……that’s it…. 4.6/5
