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Cadaver > Discipline > Reviews > gasmask_colostomy
Cadaver - Discipline

To a bloody pulp - 80%

gasmask_colostomy, November 6th, 2017

One would imagine that if you stood on the other side of Czral's kick drums, your fate would be a similar one to the bodybag on the cover, such is the pummelling that the Aura Noir sticksman (real name Carl-Michael Eide) gives the skins on the songs here. There's little doubt that with such snappy names as 'Primal', 'Murderhead', and 'Manic' that the equally brusque Discipline wastes little time in flogging the listener mercilessly to a bloody pulp, sometimes just what is desired. Add into that gang violence another part Aura Noir (Apollyon is the vocalist here), a guitarist with live credits for Satyricon and Celtic Frost, plus the rather less known quantity of LJ Balvaz who props up both the bass and guitar at the other angle. There are thus some clear black metal atmospheres to some of the songs, unhinged vocal moments of pure madness, and an ounce of thrashy glee alongside the deathly bludgeon.

Listening to this album through headphones is a testing experience, while any kind of quality audio equipment would leave a song such as 'Die Like This' imprinted on your neighbours wall insulation, such is the power of the bass that knocks out through the bottom of the sound, as well as the sheer ferocity with which the band go at it. The opening cuts of 'Primal' and 'Deliverance' are also similar beasts, though without the trips into quieter unease, attacking with the kind of vitriol seen on Aura Noir's darkest release, the ambiguous and terrifying Deep Tracts of Hell. The propulsion of the riffing and blasting assault makes this exciting on the one hand but also claustrophobic on the other, the rhythm section pinning the listener back as sudden changes of direction make wild slashes across the sound. Nothing is exactly progressive, though there are few linear tracks, occasionally throwing odd, jagged jazzy transitions in to disorient as much as possible.

The whole thing is not just relentless extreme metal punishment, the album allowing the songs to breathe somewhat more as we stagger on past the opening hostilities. 'Killtech' proves almost catchy in its breathless dash and the vague hooks of 'Reptile Robots' emerge when the song drops into mid-pace, lurching onwards like its biomechanical namesake in a mid-section akin to Ministry (the industrial band) setting up to play us out during Armageddon. Of course, Apollyon is slavering and howling like Nocturno Culto's rabid half-brother, rising up to awful levels of scrambled insanity during the otherwise controlled 'Rupture', resulting in a listen that rarely falls into a comfort zone. The mix of genres is skilfully handled in this respect, never allowing the black metal to cut too recognizable a shape, nor the thrash parts to become fun, barring some slightly bizarre flirtations with the decidedly un-extreme riffing in 'Snapper Organs'. In fact, Cadaver Inc manage to build a surprisingly complete picture of this sound's possibilities within the modest confines of 39 minutes, the songs diversifying further and further as the album goes on.

I didn't have particularly good vibes about Discipline on the first few listens, though this is not an album that I would seek out on an ordinary day. The ferocity of the heaviest tracks is simply overpowering, yet the increasing prevalence of hooks and quirky ideas that crop up on many of the songs makes this more than just a blast of pissed chaos. A one-off for the Cadaver Inc name perhaps, but the real deal nonetheless.