I remember being pretty uneasy when after I had a chance to introduce a pair of reviews for Greek black metal machine Dodsferd, another reviewer did not give A Cursed Heritage compilation favorable coverage. I decided to keep my eye on the next Dosdferd release to be able to correct the course. I missed A Breed of Parasites, but then Dodsferd never failed in terms of its prolific output, so I figured The Parasitic Survival of the Human Race ought to offer me another chance. Something I would really look forward to … yet, sadly, I have to admit I do not like this album.

Not certain what course Wrath has Dodsferd on, and what possessed him to put away the guitar to concentrate only on vocals (if my information is, indeed, true), but there is a certain line flowing through the album which makes it tough for me to accept The Parasitic Survival of the Human Race. Just reading the liner notes and the promo sheet I had a feeling that Dodsferd wasn’t going to compromise, and the album is going to offer the most depraved punk experience to date from the band otherwise not known for its mild manners. It is perfectly fine by me to dial up the attitude and throw a fat middle finger in the face of the world, but I seriously do not understand why it had to come at the expense of all of the songwriting. Just about every song (and there are four originals on The Parasitic Survival of the Human Race) starts out with the single diffuse punk riff being played for the first 3 min of every cut, only to switch to a different, but samey, sounding riff around that point in the song. The whole affair sticks to this 9 parts attitude/1 part songwriting recipe, which grows monotonous very quickly. Add single tone punk screams for vocals, and this pretty much sums up the album. Whereas before Dodsferd was brilliant giving peeks of melody, sadness or gloomy feelings from under the shroud of primitive black metal, the punk has completely swallowed that on The Parasitic Survival of the Human Race. At least Doubting Your Worth has interesting percussive (folk Greek?) pattern, somehow reminding me of Aealo by Rotting Christ, but ending up with a total breakneck run. Creator of Disease is probably the most interesting track on the album, continuing with the aforementioned pattern to a song, but at least its punky riff is catchy and worth replaying. The song has its dreamy wistful moment midway, and Wrath does vary the vocals away from the hysterical screams to desperate howls, another welcome moment.

The cover of Misfits We Are 138 was a great idea, the song calling for a sound cleanup in every department, including vocals, but perhaps the main lesson Dodsferd could have gathered from the cover is how it comes in, quickly delivers a sizeable sound punch, doesn’t overstay, and nevertheless is no less impactful, some on the whole The Parasitic Survival of the Human Race failed to achieve with me personally.