Dying Fetus have had a longer musical career than you would at first think. They don't seem like the sort of band who has existed in the gruesome death metal world for almost as long as the likes of Cannibal Corpse and Gorguts, and maybe it's because sophomoric albums like
Descend into Depravity and 2012's successful
Reign Supreme still sound very fresh and exciting. However, as with most long-time bands in the death metal/grindcore circle, Dying Fetus had their somewhat humble beginnings, having had to take a total of five years to produce and release their debut,
Purification through Violence.
Unsurprisingly enough,
Purification through Violence is in fact Dying Fetus' rawest record of all. Whereas future albums would see the band take on a more technical but not necessarily brutal route, the band's debut is, especially for those who hear it for the first time, considerably stomach churning. From the inhuman, throat-gargling screams which introduce opener “Blunt Force Trauma” to the mischievous guitar chords closing “Skum (*** the Weak)”, Dying Fetus' debut is essentially all things disgusting and visceral. Sure, there's probably even rawer, more visceral death/grindcore albums out there, but this one is just as good as any to get you hooked into this sort of sound. It's nothing special of course, and those who have heard Dying Fetus' more well-known albums will undoubtedly call this an average release. Yet it's Dying Fetus as we have always known them, despite the rawer production and abrupt changes in pace on the likes of “Permanently Disfigured” and “Nocturnal Crucifixion”.
That said, the main problem with Dying Fetus' album is, if not repetition, then definitely how the drum work is made to sound because of the production. The drum work throughout seems to be the most prominent instrument of all, but only because it's considerably louder than the guitar, bass and even vocal deliveries. This sometimes proves quite annoying, because there are actually a ton of great riffs and solos to be found, but which are for the most part made to linger in the background behind the overwhelming drum sound. The drum work itself is actually quite suitable for this particular sub-genre, but where the album fails is simply when the instrumentation remains unbalanced.
Dying Fetus' debut is as strong an introduction as any other of the band's albums would be, it's just that this one just so happens to be weak in comparison to the likes of
Killing on Adrenaline, which was released a mere two years later. Though its sole purpose is really only to complete your Dying Fetus album collection, it remains as thick, visceral and definitely as brutal as you would expect.
