Review Summary: Excellent start for female fronted Scottish death metal newcomers.
Following their inception in 2006, Glasgow based death metal outfit Cerebral Bore have worked tirelessly to create an emphatic name for themselves within the UK, as well as many miles beyond. After setting the internet community ablaze with astonishment, mainly due to ferocious female vocalist Sam Pluijmers, the young Scots embarked on successful tours of the US, Russia and much of mainland Europe. After laying a promising foundation through this rigorous schedule, it will come as no surprise to anyone lucky enough to have caught them live that their debut album, Maniacal Miscreation, is quite simply a breath of fresh air in the extreme metal scene and proof that the youngsters have the talent to back up their draining work ethic.
While today’s death metal plethora produces plenty of high quality albums from young bands with talent in abundance, the ability to distance themselves from peers is all too often the crucial aspect that lets them down. Cerebral Bore seem determined not to follow this trend; their approach incorporates many aspects of modern death metal, as well as characteristics of old school classics such as Cryptopsy, to create something that doesn’t adhere to one specific style. While they strive to leave their distinct sound on each track, it is the contrasting range of elements utilized by the band on each track that individualises each one from the last, while at all times maintaining the ferocious fluency that is an essential asset for any death metal act.
While Cerebral Bore possess some unique talent and styles, it is their performance as a unit that is set to make them a force. Having already shared stages with the likes of Aeon and Devourment, it is clear they have already earned quite a reputation amongst their peers. The belligerent vocals of Pluijmers are the most striking aspect of Maniacal Miscreation; infiltrating every orifice of the listener with her ultra wide range of highs and lows, Pluijmers strikes tones that most male vocalists can only dream of achieving. Her ferocity is unrelenting over the course of the eight tracks, from the pounding blast beats of opener “Epileptic Strobe Entrapment” right through to her ear wrenching pig squeals displayed on “24 Year Party Dungeon”. Malevolent riffing and energetic drumming coalesce to display the excellence of song writing the Glaswegians possess, from ultra fast aural assaults transitioning excellently to the sort of sludge orientated segments Waking The Cadaver strive to achieve, but miss the mark entirely; Cerebral Bore are the complete package.
It is the consistency and endurance of Maniacal Miscreation that will undoubtedly hold the listener’s attention; while many great albums have a tendency to wane towards the end or contain several tracks of less quality Cerebral Bore do fantastically to encompass a formula to ensure each track is as memorable, if not just plain stronger, than the last. With such contrast in riff magnitude and speed on display, combined with the interesting bass slaps of Kyle Rutherford, Maniacal Miscreation is an album of diversity and raw brutality. An album that will surely set the Glaswegians on their way to the summit of British death metal, and with more releases of this enormity surely left in store for the future, who would bet against them?
