Destroy the Opposition

Amazingly fucking talented! A band whose reward revolves around development of skill and the act of being precise. Dying Fetus, formed in 1991 in Annapolis, MD, is quite remarkably in the top three technical death metal bands from the United States. The surprise was finding out that the new 'band' is just as good as the Infatuation WIth Malevolence days with the older boys. Sure the sound is shaped up and Relapse dug their claws into the material, but who's complaining?! Breakdowns pummel the song structures, riffs rip through any form of solidity, and Talley's drumming can easily be described in one word - fucked! And not in a negative way either.

"Praise the Lord (Opium of the Masses)" starts off with some of the fastest riffs on the album. Where the songs change is where tone changes. The drums change. The vocal patterns change. This appear on the album over a hundred times, meaning that this album contains over a hundred riffs. Possible? Yeah, it most certainly is. By the time "Epidemic of Hate" begins one of the most tantalizing intros in death metal's history, the listener should normally feel that a slower song is absolutely necessary (ie. such as on a Cannibal Corpse record), but DF make this one even faster, aside from the slow, and so unbelievably catchy, intro riff. From start to finish, Destroy the Opposition is a masterpiece of mindblowing talent and speed. And if you think Necrophagist is fast, check this shit out!

Now that my ears have come into contact with two of their other records, I would need to recommend Infatuation With Malevolence to anyone looking for extremely brutal deathgrind. The later records have a slight hardcore influence, much like other bands on Relapse (coincidence?). I gave this a very high rating which it absolutely deserves. This is up there with the champions and conquerors of this expanding genre.

Dragos,
www.canadianmetal.com