Review Summary: Dying Fetus delivers an obsequious death-grind performance, but, their "musical integrity" does not make them dwell in a whole new dimension of the genre.
Dying Fetus - War of Attrition
Formed in 1991, Dying Fetus have now inaugurated their 6th album, War of Attrition, which still does not deviate far off their attempts to stay morally true to their musicianship, and still portrays their self-reliance. However, the band creates nothing too commercial and innovative, given that they focus on staying true to themselves. It's sounds rather like one of those basement gatherings who play death metal with the wrong abstract vision of the genre; yet they manage to reach excellence with their new album, as, on the contrary it's all that brutal death is about; playing what you love, even if the others don't take a second look. War of Attrition finally shows some originality, while remaining at the height of technicality, and brandishing thick crust punk-influenced riffs on which the whole foundation of the Dying Fetus is built.
I must state, the songs do have some technical grind core peak effects which temporarily keep my interest, but, in the desire for more, I am given nothing but more overused down-tuned riffs which seem to lose their effect quite quickly.
Homicidal Retribution, nicely rainbows the high guitar grind in towards the beginning, and the drums and riffs are actually nicely structured here. The progressiveness is rather less dynamic, and the structure doesn't vary much in that there are several combinations played over only to switch to a new one; we are given some interesting samples of what the instruments can yield. It's quite a controversial album, for some, the immaculate abstraction of death metal compiled into what is a rampaged album, for others, mere genericness.
The growls are very intense and blend well into the genre. The epicenter being in the very core of the stomach, a very plump, apathetic, engulfing sound floods out from Gallagher's throat. Excuse my ineptitude for imagery. Blast beats are the norm for this genre, and they nicely compliment the wave of clanky guitar-playing and good for a change. The cymbal seems to be the stand-out in the pack, yet isn't played so often. The drums are a great feature all in all, but they aren't very profound.
Dying Fetus's technical abilities and variety are shown off extremely well in
Fate of The Condemned. The elements are put together very well, and the new drummer seemed to be the missing piece of the band.
The high notes that are played on the guitar are distorted effectively to create a wave of irrational contrasts in the songs. The songs have no logical structure as implied prior; elements are thrown in to differentiate the sound rather than to compliment an intricate plot. Thats why the lyrics have no impact on the instrumental features, which is very evident in genres such as death metal.
Raping The System is a prime example of repetitive riffs, which, to my relief, go into a nice solo later on, of which there isn't enough on the rest of the album. Stampeding riffs and dying technical guitar melodies is what
Insidious Repression all about, the gradual mutiny and murky tremolo of the guitars nicely complete the drums here; quite a few overdrives are present, which imprints a torturing and caliginous atmosphere through the repetitiveness. The vocals shadow the general rhythm.
Towards the end, the album can get a bit repetitive, as Dying Fetus exhausts all their elements; ironic since the album only has 8 songs, each 4-5 minutes long. That brings me to advise a break between a few tracks, to refresh the need for groove.
Unadulterated Hatred displays heavy and down-tuned riffs, which are then scattered and disintegrated by the drums and a sudden shriek from the part of the guitar. Gallagher's successfully adds to the whole catchy effect, and mingles in with the other instruments to create a single entity.
Parasites of Catastrophe is one of the better songs. Guitar effects meander their way through the skull-bashing riffs and drumming. My judgment becomes ambivalent as I make my way through their last two songs, the structure being completely random and clears my mind of what was just played as time progresses in
Obsolete Deterrence.
War of Attrition features 36:50 minutes of technically flamboyant gloominess. They deliver aggressively, adamantly clinging to their message and produce a fine piece of death metal which displays their methodological excellence. They scatter their elements around to distinguish their songs, which is what defines this genre so strongly. Their 6th album is an improvement of their previous work an explosive mix of their aptitude, yet they aren't capable of making something different that will open up the genre and make it flourish. Their seats to success have already been taken...
Recommended Tracks
- Homicidal Retribution
- Fate of The Condemned
- Parasites of Catastrophe
In reality it's difficult to choose because they all have good elements.
