Dyscarnate - And So It Came To Pass
Siege Of Amida
Death Metal
10 songs (38:02)
Release year: 2012
Dyscarnate, Siege Of Amida
Reviewed by Charles
Britain’s Dyscarnate play death metal with such conviction and such undiluted brutality that it is not hard to imagine why it has been garnering such enthusiastic reviews. And So it Came to Pass scratches a purist urge so vigorously that it leaves the once-itchy skin red-raw and bleeding. It blasts and batters its way through forty minutes of vicious, pounding grooves unrelentingly, leaving anyone less than wholly committed gasping for breath. As an eclectic sort who likes a bit of dynamics and unpredictability, I found this something of an endurance test, but what do I know?

Soundwise, this can be compared to the dense, apoplectic churn of the likes of Decapitated, absent the technically-oriented soloing (which is a shame). Or alternatively countrymen Gorerotted/The Rotted, but more geared to slower tempos and with less joking around (also a shame). Riffs crash and stamp forward at mid-pace, and the drumming exhibits merciless, ceaseless precision. There are grooves here, like the face-punching wrath of the opening to Cain Enable, but they tend to stomp directly in and out of bludgeoning blast sections with a growling machismo that means you could never call this catchy. A great deal of the album’s power comes from the dual vocal-lines which coalesce around brutally simplistic choruses, like the screaming “Rise! Rise!” of In the Face of Armageddon. These moments remind me of Napalm Death, with their furious yelling of obliquely contemptuous social commentary, but the more route-one nature of the compositions makes Dyscarnate less entertaining, for my money.

Personally, I miss dynamics. “Hah! What a puny weakling!” you might derisively snort. But no. All the classic death metal records have dynamics, you just have to have an adapted ear to pick them up properly. This doesn’t even really have guitar solos to add colour to its monochromatic anger. It feels too linear. It functions perfectly on the level of full-steam ahead brutality, but in consequence begins to lose some of its impact, like being repeatedly kicked in the head after consciousness has been lost. This is a technically proficient band capable of devastating heaviness (try Engraving Ecstacy on for size), but I think future records would benefit from a more multidimensional approach to songwriting.

Killing Songs :
Engraving Exstacy, In the Face of Armageddon
Charles quoted 70 / 100
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