Returned to Life

Altered Dead come out of the seemingly ceaseless discharge of extreme metal coming out of B.C. Canada. I forget how I stumbled upon this record but I was quickly intrigued by the old-school sound mixed with (what sounds like) 8-string guitars. The tones Altered Dead have generated on this album are disgusting and brutal. I appreciate how vile the production sounds on this album, drums are organic and have plenty of feel without being sloppy and annoying. My main gripe with the Death Metal that came out of the 90's was overly-sloppy drumming from some acts; I know others feel differently but this grinds my gears especially. Vocals are gross and disgusting and I love it, Mic throws in occasional gargles and other vocal foley that only adds to the feeling they conveyed with the overall production. Altered Dead are a two-piece band but don't fail to create a complete sound. Of course, the bass takes a backseat for most of the album but I don't necessarily mind.

The tracks aren't blisteringly fast but have a ton of energy and grit to them (see "Final Pathogen" and "Ensanguine Path"), and some include some sludge/doom elements (see "Empostomb"). The blast beats on the faster sections have a ton of groove and great cymbal work. Most songs aren't overly long and listening to the album front-to-back doesn't feel like a chore. One moment I truly loved was during the break in "Rotting Outward" where the guitar plays the line that begins the album, just a really cool touch that I think bands don't incorporate often enough. I feel that the slower sections lose a lot of energy though, that's one point where they need to go back to the drawing board and see how they can rework those parts.

My only other gripe with this album is not in one specific element, just a broader question of the band's sound and direction. Yes, these gentlemen are talented and true to what the genre is all about. However, I fear they still sound like they're trying to imitate rather than innovate. Many bands fall into the trap of bringing back a once-lost sound but never building off of it in their own creative way. If I wanted to hear 90's death metal, I'll throw on Incantation or the like. Speaking of which, upon relistening to Diabolical Conquest, these guys sound like they're going for an Incantation sound. Not to the point of being a cheap imitation, but getting dangerously close to that. For their next record, I would love to see them build off of this solid foundation and branch out with some more experimentation to truly separate themselves from sounding like an imitation project.

Note: I didn't comment on lyrics because I couldn't care less about any band's lyrics, never been a lyric guy.