Review Summary: A ridiculously heavy and crushing journey through slam. Although not being particularly amazing or mind blowing it is important to see this as merely a fun record.
Ah Ingested, I remember seeing these guys with Carnifex a while and despite the ridiculous amount of hype people had for Carnifex I left the venue simply in amazement of what I had heard from Ingested. The next day I promptly listened to the album in full and needless to say I was amazed. At the time it was one of the heaviest albums I had ever listened to and I simply loved every second of it. After some time I felt it was time to approach this album with a different perspective as opposed to the fan boy attitude I had back then.
The first thing you can say when you listen to the opener 'Skinned And ***ed' is that it is without a doubt brutal which was definitely one of the things that got me hooked on these guys in the first time. Skinned And ***ed however is easily the best track on the album. After that track each and every song simply sounds the same over and over again with only a few unique attributes on each song to separate song from the other such as the neat guitar solo in 'Stillborn.' The nature of the drumming also gives all the songs that similar feeling like you've already heard everything from these guys.
The main problem for all the same sounding tracks? Simple, the goddamn drums. Due to the nature of the production the drums and particularly the double bass have been all forced to the top of the mix. This may not be such a problem if it weren't for the fact that bands like these are absolutely dependent on the double bass. The result is catastrophic as it results in the guitars and bass being pushed straight to the back of the mix and the fact that the vocals are pretty high in the mix does not help at all. Guitar work sounds muffled when layered against double bass and often when the vocals come in then the guitars are barely significant. The bass.....well....yeah, if you have difficulty hearing the guitars then you sure as hell won't hear the bass.
The vocalist('s) do add a lot of flavor to Ingested. Their vocals range from high shrieks to sickeningly brutal lows to the occasional pig squeal and even down to a hideous pitch shifted gurgle. Seeing as there are three members of the band in charge of vocal duties this add a great range of variety and each style is not abused to the point where it becomes boring or irritating. One could say that the vocals are used as an instrument as well Oh and lyrical content is your typical Slam affair, rape gore....more rape and so on.....these guys are hardly to be taken seriously in the lyrical context but then again they shouldn't be taken seriously on the whole.
The drums are definitely one of the aspects that drew both me and my friends too this band when we saw them live. Put simply we were blown away by the speed. However now looking at it there seems to be nothing too special about the drummer. His drums are simply triggered to *** and because of the nature of production his triggered double bass is seemingly right at the top. Again he is drowning out all other instruments but further more it is simply a bit too irritating to listen to his style of drumming. In small doses the drumming is exhilarating and seeming energetic but trying to listen all the way through an album with irritating bass drums constantly assaulting you becomes tiring. Sure at times the drummer is great and provides drum fills where needed but at other times he simply ruins the record. It would be a good idea if in the future Ingested tried to use production a bit better because on this record they have shot themselves in the foot by bringing the drums too high in the mix.
However in conclusion there is one thing that everyone needs to remember when they listen to Ingested. It isn't serious music nor is it mind stimulating. It is music you play when you just feel like saying "*** intelligence" and headbanging till your eyes escape from your head. It is simply a fun record for all it's short comings and these guys are great live. If these guys ever come nearby then be prepared to bang your ***ing head.
