Perceptive Deception

Perceptive Deception is a weird album. Not necessarily because it does anything of the avant-garde or progressive sort, rather the weirdness seem to come from their approach to making cookie-cutter brutal death metal. Yet, before I came to that conclusion, the connections to the mighty Pyaemia made me hopeful. Surely there must be some similarities between the two albums when they only came out two months apart from each other! Surely the member connections carry over at least some aspects of what made Cerebral Cereal unique! Right?

Well, I’m afraid that’s not really the case here. Sure, Joel Sta does the backing vocals on here, and Robbe V. delivering high octane blasting is something Disavowed has in common with Cerebral Cereal, but I’m afraid that’s where similarities end. Instead of the easily digestible, but ruthlessly groovy one-two punch of the aforementioned album, Perceptive Deception follows the teachings of the US bands much more closely. Influences of Suffocation are a no-brainer, but anyone with greater knowledge of the genre will immediately notice the thick wall of sound resembling the likes of Gorgasm’s first EP or Deeds of Flesh’s third album. In layman’s terms, this means the instruments are condensed, never really leaving any breathing room for the listener. Machinegun fired licks flying left and right, blast beats out of the wazoo, occasionally some slower chugging as to break up the monotony, the usual suspects really. So, what makes this record weird if it is perfectly conventional on the instrument front? Well, the vocals, obviously.

For some odd reason, guided by an unknown cosmic entity during every step of the recording process, they recorded the vocals through walkie-talkies. Every single guttural bark leaving Robbe Kok’s mouth is so incredibly compressed and distorted by this stupid effect that it makes you yearn for those sparse high-pitched “OUARGHHHHS” and gurgles from Joel. I suspect it was intended to either make the half-squeals feel sharper or emphasise the intellectual – or pseudo-intellectual depending on how you look at it – lyrics. To put it bluntly, it annoys me to no end. Yet, it also fascinates me in the same way I’m obsessed with wacky B-movies. I know what I’m listening to isn’t good, but its goofiness does make it more memorable than it otherwise might have been. It also serves as a contrast to the otherwise perfectly fine riffing, giving the whole disc a pretty interesting dynamic, albeit one that stays the same from start to finish.

That said, even with the vocals being the defining element on this record, there are definitely some standout parts worth mentioning outside of those realms. For example, the album shines even with the soar throated swamp monster when it decides to put more emphasis on the guitar leads. Unfolding Disposition’s Cryptopsy-esque melody in the song’s second half in particular is rather tasty, but the grooves on Critical Emulation and Masses Conformed – while nothing like Pyaemia’s – are not to be underestimated. Moments like these make the overall experience palatable despite all the duds along the way, pushing the band’s debut towards the “I like it” status. Alas, there are dull moments on here too, such as the album opener. It huffs, it puffs, and it chugs away valiantly, but the nonstop senseless barking turns it into background music surprisingly quickly, making me fight my own attention span to zone back in by the time the third (and first good) song comes on.

It's annoying, but I really can’t help but be drawn to the quirkiness of the album. It’s kind of like witnessing a car crash that I can’t look away from. I know it’s not nearly as good as some other bands from the scene, but there is some morbid beauty in its glaring imperfection. And thus, I arrive at the conclusion: Perceptive Deception is a weird album. Do I enjoy it? Some parts of it I do, but I would not go as far as to recommend this over a Brodequin album for example. So, to sum it up, with a single stylistic choice, the band managed to make their work standout from the sea of decent brutal death metal records, even if it is for all the wrong reasons. It’s alright, I guess.

The highlights of the album are Critical Emulation, Unfolding Disposition, and Reason Rejected.

Disavowed’s debut album “Perceptive Deception” came out just in the nic the time when a lot of iconic bdm albums came out. The late 90s to mid-2000s were a breeding ground for many classic bands in the genre. For example Disgorge, Devourment, Cephalotripsy, Brodequin, and Pyaemia. Those are all bands that spawned the mid to late 2000’s era of slam and bdm. And Disavowed fit perfectly in that era. Making their debut full-length a cult classic in the scene.

Right away the massive Suffocation influence can be heard within this brutal album. This can also be compared to Pyaemia’s one and only album “Cerebral Cereal”. As that album was released in the same year as “Perceptive Deception”, a month after Disavowed dropped their debut. And because this band features members of Pyaemia. Regardless this album is extremely fast-paced and tight. It's ruthless, groovy, and blast-beat dominating. This album will absolutely cave your skull in with its frantic crawling riffs and inhuman gurgles. It doesn’t lose that edge whatsoever across this whole album.

While this album is heavily dominated by ruthlessly picked guitar riffs and blast beats. There’s a ton of groove and nice tremolos. “Reason Rejected” has tons of nice mid-paced riffing and dissonant chugging alongside the more intense blast beats. The riffs are also very technical at times. Going back to that Suffocation-like style of playing guitar riffs. I love how amongst all the blistering chaos the band manages to maintain a balance of rhythm and groove.

This record is very straightforward and blunt. There isn’t anything new that this record displays. But that’s what makes it insanely brutal. It's straightforward yet hooky enough to make this a very memorable and fun listen. This album also reminds me a lot of Inveracity. The band also utilizes some pinch harmonics here and there. Nice slam riffs are also integrated as well to make things groovier. I wouldn’t really say it’s breakdown-oriented or has some slow moments. The slowest it gets is during more mid-paced grooves. But mainly this album is just unrelenting fast-paced brutality.

The thing that really makes this fast and brutal is those goddamn drums. Holy fucking shit dude. The drummer for this band and the drummer for Pyaemia Robbert Vrijenhoek is fucking inhuman. His blast beats are absolutely insane and fast as fuck. Yet they are also very tight and precise. His double bass work is also crazy as fuck. His fast-paced drumming is unrelenting for the entire album. But he also manages to throw in some nice drum rhythms and beats to balance out that pure fast brutality he mainly uses.

Vocally this is very much like Frank Mullen (ex Suffocation). Robbe Kok has a very gnarly guttural style and is absolutely feral. Mainly he’s using that mid-range of growls and gutturals. He occasionally throws in a slightly higher-pitched shout or shriek. But mainly it’s that same intensity of his usual gutturals and gurgles. And it sounds fucking fantastic and brutal. Very much in homage to early Suffocation.

Finally, we got that production. The mix of this album is fantastic and fits perfectly within the 2000s bdm era. We got a nice crunchy and down-tuned guitar tone here. The type of tone that absolutely shreds and eviscerates you to bits. The drums have a perfect pop to them that makes them sound like a goddamn machine gun. The kick drums sound great as well. The bass isn’t as transparent but that isn’t a gripe necessarily for me. And the vocals fit well in the middle ground. Overall this album has a great mix that makes everything beefy and heavy.

In conclusion, this album is brilliant. It’s brutal, riffy, and very enjoyable to listen to. If you like brutal death metal of all types and styles this album is an essential listen. It’s got everything a death metal fanatic would want. Great riffs, a gnarly production quality, and a ton of fucking blast beats. So give this fucking thing a jam. A gnarly 2000s bdm album done perfectly. Fantastic shit.

FFO: Suffocation, Gorgasm, Inveracity, Pyaemia, Defeated Sanity, Deeds of Flesh, Severe Torture

The first bands I heard when listening to this album? I heard a bit of Purity of Perversion-era Aborted, a bit of Effigy-era Suffocation and a bit of their fellow countrymen Severe Torture. So one could say this is brutal death metal, which it certainly is, and it's very good brutal death metal. It's not original by any means, but the bands they've chosen to emulate are good choices, so I won't hate on them.

The guitar work on this album consists of fast downtuned death metal riffs. Reasonably technical, and very similar to the earliest Suffocation releases. There are no solos, which is a shame and would've scored some bonus points, but I won't complain, because the rest of the music is just so good. There is a lot of bass presence, though the bassist does seem to just follow the guitars. The drums are what one can expect from this style of music. Lots of blast beats and technical fills. The vocalist sounds like a combination of Sven de Caluwé and Frank Mullen. Very brutal, but also not very understandable.

The music is very consistent. No dip in quality. Straightforward and enjoyable throughout. While a bit more variation wouldn't have gone amiss, the actual music contained within is satisfactory. A great release. This is hardly unique, but if you're fan of any or all of the three bands i've compared them to, then this should be right up your alley.

If you’ve ever wondered what the differences between the “technical” and “brutal” death metal subgenres are, I’d like to recommend the following series of steps which may or may not lead to the clarification of this matter. And along the way, we will use the deep, intelligent, and boner-inducing lyrics of Disavowed to guide us.

The area between extremes opens up multiple possibilities_
It enhances objectiveness in criticizing matter involved
Because it's based upon differentiated ways of thinking...

What a helpful way to think about it! Thanks, Disavowed. Onward. First, listen to Cannibal Corpse’s “The bleeding” and Suffocation’s “Pierced from within.” Not their debut albums, I know, but a good representation of where each band was coming from at the time. Note a mix of varied song structures, choruses, and dare I say an odd sense of melody to differentiate between songs. Can you call this stuff brutal? You most certainly can. Can you say there are breakdowns, or at least slow, rhythmic sections juxtaposed with faster, blasting sections? Again, yes. Are both albums pretty spiffy? They are. Good job, everyone, you’ve completed step one.

Matter has to be objective in order to make it discussable
The object of discussion needs to be a tangible one
To every subject involved, so it has to refer to a tangible object...

Good point. Let’s refer to another pair of tangible objects, namely compact discs, to further this discussion. We’ve taken a look at some of the founders of the brutal death scene, who also have had some impact on the tech death masses as well. As time passed the two subgenres seemed to grow further and further apart. To make things fair (since the Platonic scholars of Disavowed would undoubtedly prefer that), let’s take two examples from around the same time period and on the same label.

You know what I think (http://www.globaldomination.se/reviews/deeds-of-flesh-crown-of-souls) about "Crown of souls" already. It is brutal death right down to the last metronome blast, and it blows. Deeds of Flesh are looked upon as great inspiration among their peers. Surprise, surprise. Don’t even bother listening to “Crown of souls,” because you’re soon to hear an album that sounds just like it. But not yet. Next queue up an undeniably tech death album, “Scepter of the ancients” by Psycroptic. Have the last strains of the “Scepter of Jaar-gilon” faded out? Wasn’t that song awesome? Yes, while there are some snoozers the power of the ‘crop is undeniable. They have intricate song structures, various tempos (not just blast-slam-blast), melodic content, varied vocals, and *ACTUAL FUCKING SONGS*. It appears that key points of difference between brutal and tech have started to emerge. What do you think, Disavowed?

The confrontation between dominant structures
And unsuppressed intelligence occur at the edges of society
Crises can be measured in the dynamic state of confrontation
It enhances creativity, stagnation won't occur

Fuckin’ A! Okay, you’ve made it this far. Now comes the time for the final step. Prep the album “Perceptive deception” by Disavowed in the music playing device of your choice. Set the volume at a moderate level. Hit play…and…prepare to be bored to tears by another cookie-cutter brutal death metal band. If you can pick four or five actual songs from the pile of blasts, über-guttural monotone mic-cupping grunts, general rifflessness, and semi-catchy breakdowns then you are a better man than I. Just look at the singer’s last name. Says it all.

Is this as shitty as Deeds of Flesh? No, they have a better drum sound and at least two or three of these songs could be called listenable. Which ones? Got me. But I’m not going to trade “Perceptive deception” away, or smear it with grasshopper guts and drop it on the rainforest floor in hopes of an army ant attack. Instead, I am going to keep it in my collection, so that when confronted with the educated opinion of some fourteen year old brutal death metal fan outside a show I can at least have a point of reference from which to argue. I think I’ll quote my Dutch pals when I deliver the last word on “brutality”;

It enhances man's natural drive to form clusters
And to compete with others within the framework of these structures

In the end, I have to thank Disavowed for confirming what I had already guessed. There is indeed a difference between technical and brutal death metal. Some tech death is good, most brutal death is the equivalent of a hamburger made out of horse clitori. Thanks to everyone who participated in my little exercise. I’ll leave you with one last thought from everyone’s favorite philosophers of North Brabant and the score.

Creation has to evolve from necessity
It's always on the crossing border of
Existing and non-existing matter
Creation will be based upon imagination

2 out of ten necessities to create an imaginative demise for brutal death out of 10

Oh, and a side note of the cover art. Apparently the same torture killer who did this: (http://sleevage.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/cc/6_cannibal_c_vile.jpg) is back at it! Someone had better stop him before he strikes again.

Originally posted at www.globaldomination.se

Once again Holland has introduced the Underground Scene with yet another great act.This band revolves around the American Death Metal act, with inspirations from bands such as Deeds of Flesh, Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Disgorge and many others. One cannot forget their fellow countrymen Severe Torture and Pyaemia.All nine tracks in this album are brutal and sick. The vocalist has a unique style of growling whilst the backing vocals come from Joel of Pyaemia. The lyrics are also rather different to normal Death Metal bands but still rather interesting to follow. The drummer who is also Robbe V from Pyaemia is till brutal as ever with Disavowed. Even though Disavowed tend to repeat their riffs quite frequently and some are quite similar to each other, they do it in such a way that it doesn’t bore the listener. Speed, technique and melody rule all their songs making it an enjoyable CD to listen too, from track 1 to 9.

The production is great. The cover art is by well-known artist Jon Zig who drew cover arts for bands such as Deeds of Flesh, Disgorge etc. The CD also contains a video clip of one of their songs mastered by Robbe K the Vocalist. The sound quality is fucking amazing. All the instruments are levelled perfectly one cannot complain about the recording.In conclusion I think that this is a true masterpiece for all Metal Heads that listen to Death Metal. It’s a definite must in everyone’s CD collection.

This album can be instantly described with a few familiar words; fast, technical, brutal, Suffocation. For some metal fans, myself included, these are the key ingredients, and enough to mark a great death metal album. The production is immaculate, the band have their own sound within the limited confines of the genre, very bassy, but it is also very clear and doesn't suffer from the mudiness that often obscures the riffs in many DM acts. The vocalist has an original style too, slightly more high-pitched than usual, but very fast and very coarse. The lyrics are slightly unusual, short philosophical rants regarding existentialism as far as I could tell, which make an interesting change. The unrelenting high-tempo makes the songs quite breathtaking to listen to, mostly because the band exhibits an exceptionally fluid style, while maintaining the complex structure of the riffs. This is where Disavowed scores extra points over their rivals in my opinion, because they have managed to avoid the jagged and sometimes frustrating start-stop ethic that many DM seem to deem as necessary to reach the technical content quotient. The marks the band lose are simply because they haven't done anything amazingly original. But as a model of how good death metal can be when put into really heavy, crystal clear production with intensely accomplished instrumentalists exhibiting an ability to write mature and dynamic songs, this surely ransk alongside the best.