Even before Dying Fetus cemented their status as one of the more promising death metal acts of the 21st century, they had already released arguably one of the best albums of their career in
Killing on Adrenaline the result of a one-album deal with Morbid Records in Germany. Sure, the band's debut album raised a few eyebrows in the underground extreme metal scene, but it was with
Killing on Adrenaline where Dying Fetus truly began to create a career-defining core sound.
What is most obvious about Dying Fetus' second album is how technical and “clinical” the musicianship is compared to the gritty, raw-edged nature of the band's debut. Songs like the visceral opening title track and it's lengthy successor “Procreate the Malformed” displayed a maturer, more complex style of songwriting which, although lost none of the integrity and viciousness which made
Purification through Violence all the more intense, still managed to lay down a promising future for the band. Whilst the bass and drum work do the job just right on
Killing..., it's really the guitar work which proves the most prominent instrument. The main riffs of the title track and the opening technical jam of “Procreate the Malformed” sound very twisted, very chaotic but at the same time display a certain degree of forward-thinking musicianship, making the listener believe that this is more than just a by-the-numbers death metal record. Though these are really the only two songs which remain technical for the entirety of their respective lengths, the technical musicianship does crop up throughout the likes of “Absolute Defiance” and “Intentional Manslaughter”, particularly during the lengthier mid-sections.
Aside from the more technical standpoint of the album's general direction, there are a few songs which develop the rawer, grittier edge of the band's core sound, something which the debut had in spades. The two shorter songs, “Kill your Mother/Rape your Dog” and “Judgment Day”, are probably the best examples of this. Whereas the former is a mischievous, chaotic take on the band's earlier deathgrind influences, the latter is controlled by a slower, heavier sound which although doesn't take in as much technicality as the longer songs, still displays a more controlled instrumental performance. What may put some off however is how some of the riffs, no matter how technical they are, just sound the same after a while. Whilst the opening moments of the title track and “Procreate the Malformed” do tend to stick in your head for hours after the songs have been played, the likes of “Fornication Terrorists” and “We are your Enemy” seem to follow the same direction and come across as filler-based material rather than independent tunes offering something new.
Killing on Adrenaline, whilst not quite Dying Fetus' best album, is still a pivotal moment in the band's long-winded career. The inclusion of more technical musicianship from this point on only became more identifiable and prominent in the band's sound, particularly with the likes of
Stop at Nothing and
Descend into Depravity, but what still remains to this day is Dying Fetus' penchant for the most vicious and brutal of death metal sounds, and aside from the technical musicianship, that is what the band's second album shows quite a lot of.
