Human Fear

“…curse the priest, rape the nun, kill Jesus Christ, spit at the church…”

With Human Fear, New York’s Apparition throw more rampage into their previous slightly above-generic sound by brawling past thrash’s border and smack dab into the poison-barbed collision of death and doom metal. Honestly, it’s probably the best thing this band, now a four-piece, could’ve done. And speaking of the line-up, another high five goes to the walking papers given to Rob Hernan(dez), actually a vocalist of suitable heft and high note for thrash but would’ve been a little too pastel for the lands they were ready to explore, so for the expedition guitarist Andy Marcione and bassist Rich Figla split the ride and pay in tormented deathrash currency.

Everything is more this time ‘round. Rhythmic velocities and tempos overturn each other often without being haphazardly sewn together as if in from an eighth grade home-economics class. Molten thrash riffs have become thirsty for darker, more distorted blood as the guitars have fallen into a slightly deeper tone, creating a crevice from where the group’s newly-quaked doom arises. Dynamism pulls several breakdowns and build-ups into realms more dramatic and powerful. Solos snake more like downed powerlines as drummer Mike Hymson reinvents himself somewhat through various (though not alarming) changes in timekeeping.

Both sets of lungs burrow through the carnage. Figla and his coolly echoing Araya-meets-Wargod vocal apparition, while a little low in the tape’s self-announced ‘doom, sludge, and mud’ mix, hogtie “Hidden Fear” and “Narcissistic World” and drag them screaming into death metal’s then-small, but merciless monarchy. Marchione tunnels with a deeper, more inhuman drawl, frightening as it drones “Human Error”’s loathing “…for God, for religion, for worship…” upon a doomscaped mire. And if all four lungs met halfway, they’d probably shed similar blood as same year Bolt Thrower.

This promising demo would eventually yell in the ear of Relapse Records, then Roadrunner, who would suggest a name change. Excluding the pair on the ’90 single, “Human Error” would be the only song from Apparition’s demos recreated in the name of Sorrow, and incidentally, the version on Hatred and Disgust is but a shadow of brutal gloom in comparison. That, however, is another story.