Words alone cannot describe this beautiful debut album by what's probably one of the greatest brutal death metal bands now in existence. There are virtually no flaws with this album, and even the fact that the drums are programmed don't bring it down a bit, it's so awesome. Ever since I first heard their promo back in late 2012, I knew that this would become one of my favorite slamming brutal death metal bands, even raising the standards higher than bands such as Cerebral Bore and Abominable Putridity. This two-man brutality machine completely obliterates everything in its path, with some of the sickest guitar riffs I've ever heard, along with incredible drum programming and inhuman vocals with creative lyrics from the ever-famous Larry Wang! These starters of the new Taiwan brutal death scene have created an immensely bone-crushing record that completely obliterates all other albums that have been and will be released in 2013 (and that says a lot, due to the fact that Amon Amarth and Black Sabbath have also released albums this year). Now, let's take an insight on why this album tops the charts for all other albums that have been released unto the chair of metal mightiness for this year.
First off, every track is flawless and brutal as all hell. The album opens with an intro that sounds like a mid-apocalyptic human crisis, seemingly inspired by the intro to Abominable Putridity's "The Anomalies of Artificial Origin" (this band draws a LOT of inspiration from Abominable Putridity, actually - which is not all that present in their music, I'm just aware that both of these guys are big Abominable Putridity fans, and they happen to express it a lot, as well). The album slams the listener directly in the face with the enormous wall of brutality that is the song "Severe Contamination," followed by the title track, "Gluttonous Chunks," which is one of those short-but-chaotic songs. The album also has a great last track that ends the record with an absolutely kickass slam to the face, with the ever-so-famous man calling some emergency line in an alien invasion that is also present on "Planetary Duality" by The Faceless. The riffs are nicely chosen and put into place, almost like puzzle pieces of song that perfectly fit in only their one perfect spot. Dual vocal tracks help emphasize the gurgling, harsh tones that rock every track like an endless earthquake of gutturals and pig squeals. The drum programming is done especially well, reigning in creative blast patterns, unique fills, head-ramming grooves, and excellent drum tone (which should be expected, due to the fact that they're programmed). The guitars are probably one of the most genius parts of the album, having a full-bodied, slamming tone that can completely hypnotize guitar players and non-guitar players alike. Although bass isn't substantially audible, it continuously carries a feel of low-end presence with the overall violence-induced entity of this album.
Now, let's take an insight on some of the separate instruments. The vocalist, Larry Wang, never disappoints, no matter what band or album he's doing vocals for. His gurgling gutturals and pig squeals totally dominate superiority over many other guttural vocalists in other slamming brutal death metal bands. He uses two vocal tracks, which really fill in an atmosphere of getting an all-around vocal sound with two different styles being present at the same time. I can count at LEAST four guttural styles being used on this album's entirety. Even the patterns and placement of the lyrics create an astonishingly catchy slam album (uncommon, right?). Larry even shows a surprising adaptation to lower-pitched vocal styles on the beautifully perfected cover of "Pulses In Rhombus Forms" by Wormed. Coprocephalic really brings out a wide variety of vocal performances from Larry, and I'm definitely satisfied with the excellent work he has done for this album. I hope he carries on this superb talent of his in future works!
Let's continue, shall we? The guitar work. It's fantastic. The riffs are some of the best I've heard in quite a while in metal, casting great blasting moments, followed by explicitly catchy grooves and slamming breakdowns that deliver a crushing storm of intensifying eardrum destruction! Some rather groovy work with pitch harmonics was thrown in there at some of the more mid-paced sections, springing to life a sort of melody within a slamming pulse. The tone quality is also a noticeable "thumbs-up" factor, giving off what feels like a not too thin, yet not too thick tone that adds a new character to the guitar parts- Not only enhancing, but helping to signify the rushing brutality of this work. To make it even better, Coprocephalic kicks it up yet another notch by adding something that always seems pushed aside and forgotten in brutal death metal: guitar solos! The solos help highlight parts of the music and intensify certain build-ups and even melodies that leave the listener absolutely speechless. While memorable work isn't entirely present throughout the work, it seems like the total adrenaline completely pulses and rages on, roaring on as a non-stop engine of utter brutality.
As for the rhythm section, the drums are programmed. Now, with that being said, of course the drumming sounds extremely triggered and plastic-sounding. However, this is pretty much completely made up for by the sheer annihilation and destruction that the drums add to the mix, having fills and patterns that give a majorly creative feel of complexity and progression. The fact that the drums are programmed takes away virtually nothing from the pursuit of pure awesomeness that this album completely rules over. As for the bass, it is more or less inaudible, which is nothing new for a genre such as this. A feeling of shuttering low-end presence does indeed feel pulsing throughout each song, but isn't physically heard, like a seasoning that doesn't add flavor, but is great to have there. The bass riffage is no different from the guitar riffage, especially given that the guitar player is also the one to record the bass parts. Overall, the rhythm section turned out really good and packed an extra punch to each and every track's powerful force.
Overall, I honestly can't even begin to put into words how much I love this album, and how much greatness the two members of Coprocephalic managed to evenly and tastefully spread upon each work of art and slamming creativity that is packed into this single album. This is my favorite album of 2013 (I'm already saying that, and 2013 is only halfway done!) by far, and I definitely can't wait to hear what this brutal band has in store for their future releases. Favorite tracks: "Severe Contamination," "Pavement of A Thousand Torsos," "Scourging the Obese," "Embryonal Coagulated Genesis"
