Purification Through Violence

“Putrefaction Through Violence” is Maryland death metal band Dying Fetus’s debut album released August 6th, 1996. This is an unrelenting and filthy first album, and while Dying Fetus had released a couple demos before this project, this is still extremely impressive for a first full length album.

Dying Fetus really sets themselves apart with their vocals. There are two different vocalists during this era of the band, Jason Netherton doing the high screams and John Gallagher doing the low gutturals. Both vocalists are extremely impressive and when they layer their vocals on top of each other it sounds fantastic but John Gallagher’s gutturals are really a noteworthy performance. John Gallagher’s gutturals are so freakishly low it actually doesn’t even make any sense, he might have some of the lowest gutturals in all of death metal.

The songwriting is dynamic and engaging, every member is playing their instrument extremely well and they all get their time to shine on this album. The intros on this project are all great, my favorite part of this album is the beginning of the final song “Scum” which is supposed to be a Napalm Death cover but Dying Fetus really put their own spin on it, you can hear someone choking and coughing for about twenty seconds, the drums come in promptly, followed by the bass guitar making for a groovy rhythm, someone hatefully screams something indiscernible, and then the guitars and John Gallagher’s low gutturals come in. Although they didn’t technically write that song, it sounds so much better than the original, they definitely had their own take on it, and it’s gotta be one of my favorite intros in death metal.

The guitars on this album have a sharply distorted tone and while there are minimal actual guitar solos on this album, Dying Fetus has this signature guitar technique where they are playing these high pitched riffs that sound like they’re throwing razor blades at their guitars or something. I normally don’t enjoy high pitch riffs in metal because they don’t feel fitting in music this heavy but Dying Fetus’s approach to it is actually interesting and fun to listen to.

In conclusion, this album is a brutal essential for anyone who might want something a little different. Dying Fetus definitely show off their own unique sound and it’s gross and obscene but still technical and dynamic.