Revel in Madness

Serbian death metal is something of an enigma to me, probably because I’ve had so little exposure to anything from that part of Europe, let alone its more extreme metal scene. But if the debut of Defilement that is “Revel In Madness” is any indication, their definition of brutal music seems to be lagging behind the American one by about 10 years or so. Granted, I would actually argue that middle era Cannibal Corpse and early Suffocation is much more brutal than the brainless slam bands and grinding versions of the genre that seem to popping up like pulverized cancer polyps of late, and this album does a good job showing the likes of Job For A Cowboy how to properly rediscover what first pulled itself out of the grave in the early 90s.

Though coined as an album that seeks to “defile Christianity through brutality”, this is actually a bit more gore obsessed and largely religiously neutral compared to more infamous outfits in the Deicide mold. Apart from maybe the chaotic blur of incomprehensible barks and slightly grooving but agitated instrumental elements that is “Baptism Of The Deadborn”, which would appear to be a slap at Mormonism since they’re the only ones into baptizing dead people, this deals in subjects more in line with the typical Cannibal Corpse offering, but done perhaps a bit less bluntly and slightly closer to the lyrical mode of “Scream Bloody Gore”.

One thing that seems to be a pretty popular thing amongst recent extreme metal albums of late is the heavy use of sampled narrations amid the sea of notes and screams. They’re employed quite effectively here, adding to the sense of depravity and madness that overtakes the whole of the album, and actually providing a little bit of contrast to what largely turns out to be a pretty symmetrical approach to songwriting. The shorter works like “World Cadaver” and “Axe” generally tend to be a bit more chaotic, while longer ones like “Emerging” have a bit more development of slower material. But generally the riffs lead from one to the next in a smooth, almost verse to chorus fashion. Perhaps the more surprising element at play here that further puts this into a more traditional death metal paradigm is the frequent use of flashy lead guitar lines, channeling the Slayer tendencies of the earlier bands that forged the style yet didn’t venture really far outside of the extreme thrash roots that helped birth the style.

But despite the heavily traditional tendencies, this is an interesting listen for the more varied vocal approach, which goes beyond mere Chris Barnes and Frank Mullen imitation and actually employs some of the more intricate, effects oriented mixture of high and low pitches screams that was a staple of early death/black outfits like Dissection and was later picked up by The Crown. All around this album manages to impress with a clever usage of mostly old and a little new, and should find a comfortable home with anyone who enjoys the more recent output by older bands in the death metal scene, say “Evisceration Plague” and “Burial Ground”. It’s perhaps a little bit more difficult to procure because of the obscurity of the band, but these depraved Serbians’ work could do with a bit more attention.

Brutal death metal. This genre is well known for its massive blast-beating drums. Low tuned ultra-distorted guitars, and extreme guttural vocals. "Defilement" here has accomplished them all (along with a well-chosen name and lyrical theme) creating a great abattoir among the 10 tracks of "Revel in Madness"! So let's manipulate, grind some bowls and spread them all around. It's been a while since I last listened to a proper brutal death metal album. Truth is, I've never heard of a band from Serbia before, which was overwhelming to my ears. Although I may know nothing about that country's metal scene, this album surely fills me with hopes for Serbian music.

Let's have a look to the lyrical theme of the band: "Defiling of Christianity through brutality." What can I say? Fucking genius! It's well known how Christianity was forced upon Europe by its brutal ways of torture. However, the album art is distant from that idea, and too close to the mainstream image of guts and blood of mutant corpses. I think it's enough talking about the album cover and let's get to the butchery within the music. The more I listen to it, the more I smell burnt flesh all around.

What we have here are extremely distorted, low-tuned chainsaw guitars with heavy mind blowing riffs, sick gory break downs and speed picking, giving an extremely sick and mean atmosphere. As in every track, guitars are shredding as the bass comes to grind the slashes of the shattered guts all over the place. You can clearly hear the bass guitar playing over everything, adding more aggressiveness to the music itself. Drums are way too fast and skilled, giving a feeling of insanity, and loosing the neck for an ultimate headbang, speed rolls and blast-beats and an extremely heavy sound!

The vocals are my favorite part in this album. They are not of that beg-n'-squeal voice or that unheard vocals style, no. You can hear it clearly: extreme, brutal and aggressive yet heard and is overall firm vocalization.

After I've enjoyed this album, I need to say a few things here. This band really needs better recording, and, in my point of view, more techniques in their music won't make it less brutal than it is, but will instead boost the ear experience of the fans.

Wishing you the success you deserve and better recording quality in the upcoming years.