Turbulence from the Deep

Hailing from Malaysia is the band Humiliation. To be honest when I received this cd I didn't hold much hope for it. There was just something about it that gave me an odd feeling. I've not heard many Malaysian bands or bands from the Asian region in general, but the ones I have heard have not really been that good other than Tyrant (Japan) and Sigh (Japan), with Sigh's only memorable material being the "Tragedies" demo and the "Requiem for Fools" EP at least in my opinion. Outside of those 2 releases I have only heard 2 others and they couldn't hold a candle to the older material. With that being said, I seriously need to delve more into this region of metal bands because despite my lack of knowledge of Asian bands, and my few annoyances with this particular cd, I still find something intriguing about the methodology of them. Now I will tell you a bit about this CD.


When I put in in the cd player and hit play, I must admit I was quite surprised at the music. Dirty, sludgy, yet ever so slightly under-produced guitars and the sluggish tempo of the riffing reminded me quite a bit of Bolt Thrower mixed with a little Benediction, although not as technical. I really like this part of the CD. A little demo(ish) sounding which gives it a nice added touch of underground feel to the cd as a whole. There is nothing out of the ordinary or even inventive here. It's just the laid back, yet in your face way that it is played that makes the music 100 percent brutal. I thought then that maybe I was wrong to judge this CD so quickly. The drum work was nice as well. Nothing fancy or technical here, just straightforward brutal death metal. The one thing that did annoy me on the drums was the fact that it sounded like the guy was having trouble on the double bass. It would sound good in parts, but on other parts it sounded like he was having trouble with the timing. So, at this point, the CD has a lot going for it. The guitars are nice and brutal and the drumming sounds like ancient war drums sounding off for battle despite a slight glitch. This is reminding me a lot of the 2 above mentioned bands as well as Goatloard, Autopsy, (old) Paradise Lost and, dare I say, even a touch of older My Dying Bride in some parts. I know that may be going out on a limb there, but I am just mentioning what I notice.

Now, with regret I have to mention what annoyed the hell out of me about this CD. Yes, it was too good to be true. When the vocals came in I was absolutely horrified. It reminded me of the vocals from Malevolent Creation when Brett Hoffman left the band after the release of "Stillborn". I did not like those vocals then and I do not like them to this day. It wasn't so bad when this cd first started, but the vocal pattern got increasingly more annoying and monotonous with each passing song. On top of that, the lyrics were pretty horrid, too. I am not sure if this was do to a translation process or the lack of putting complete sentences together as far as lyrics go. It was just to choppy in pronunciation and delivery lyrically and vocal-wise and at this point I must be honest, I just about shut this CD off at the halfway point. Absolutely no fluidity whatsoever. I have not reviewed a CD that annoyed me like this for a long time. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a total loss. It is still quite awesome music-wise, but it's just that the lyric writing and the vocals were absolutely horrible. A slightly raspier vocal pattern would have been really awesome on this CD. What would have been really awesome is if this would have been an instrumental release.

Even so, I am not ready to write this band off yet. It's obvious they have talent to some degree and I will hold out hope that their next release will be a lot better than this one. I mean after all, Deep Send Records signed them and I don't believe for a minute that they would have signed Humiliation if they didn't have any talent.

All in all, with a little lyrical and vocal guidance, these guys would be a complete package and be a force to reckon within the metal world. What annoys me others may like. Hell, there might be someone out there that thinks this is the best CD they've heard this year. I am just reporting what I am hearing and how I feel about the CD. If there are people out there who love every aspect of it, then that is totally awesome. Even though I was annoyed quite a bit by parts of this CD, I will continue to listen to it from time to time and maybe it will grow on me. I will state that I will support this band no matter what because even though there are some flaws, they are busting their asses in the underground trying to make a name for themselves and that alone deserves my total respect and yours, too.

War metal seems somehow an appropriate thing to cover this Fourth of July, even if that war metal is hailing from one of two Southeast Asian acts writing and performing under the banner of Humiliation. Not to be confused with the Indonesian band, who dabble in a more brutal style of death metal, this Malaysian quintet have cultivated a particular obsession with the classic sounds of the late 80s and early 90s, in particular groups like Bolt Thrower, Gorefest, Cancer and Asphyx, known for their plodding simplicity among the ever-sickening sea of complexity that progressed through the 90s and beyond. But we've come full circle, as younger bands pillage the past for more authentic tones, returning to the roots and attempting to expand more freshly in a horizontal direction.

The whole concept behind Turbulence from the Deep is compelling to me. Submarine death metal from Malaysia? Sign me up. Surprisingly, though I can't recall encountering them in the past, they've already put out three full-lengths, each represented with an aircraft, vessel and mobile armor, so the theme is nothing new to the guys. Not that it's new anywhere, because beyond Bolt Thrower, groups like Hail of Bullets and Invasion have been champion this style of 'History Channel' death metal for some time, but the prospect of this outfit's geographical location hints at a fresh perspective. And that might or might not be the case, since I haven't got the lyric sheet for this one, but I can say for certain that the music is a time portal opened back up to the years of War Master and The IVth Crusade, centered on a set of hooks that unfortunately are so primal and obvious that they feel ceaselessly derivative across the 44 minutes of material. Now, that might not be such a negative if you're the sort of listener who pines for nostalgia at the expense of innovation, but I could not in good conscience get past the fact.

That is NOT to say the minimalistic riffing killed of tracks like "Operation Obeo One" or "Calibrated Chaos", which slogs along at almost a death/doom crawl, is a total deal breaker, because what they lack in creativity they make up for in a very rich, pummeling, brooding production peppered with somber melodies in the vein of Bolt Thrower. You can only imagine that with such a limited palette of chugging rhythm guitars played out over only a few chords and root notes, this helps add some versatility, depth and emotion to the bleakness. The vocals are a truly nihilistic guttural bark, using the Karl Willetts style as a base, but not as beefy, so you hit a few more mid-ranged growls here or there. The drums snap along persistently beneath the meat of the rhythm guitar, with plenty of double bass rolls when called for, and they pick up appropriately whenever Humiliation surges forward into one of its faster death/thrash styled riffing sequences. Bass guitar is heard and felt, but it doesn't exactly have the consistency of a depth charge that I had hoped, and it tends to find comfort in following along the rhythm guitar patterns. Admittedly, a lot of the death metal I receive from this area of the world is usually quite brutal and choppily engineered, so Humiliation was at least a smooth change of pace.

Songwriting is all pretty steady and samey through the first ten cuts, with some deviations in tempo that prevent it from becoming a swollen bore, but then they throw a surprise left with the tranquil acoustic outro "Submerged at the Seabed" which is pleasant and captivating despite its own simplistic nature. Otherwise, the parameters are set early on and there's little to no deviation. The notion of lead guitars are generally just reduced to those melodies I mentioned earlier; an area where the band could clearly expand upon, even just with some bluesy wailing an an effects pedal. Atmospherically, I suppose the drudging pace and doomed tone of the rhythm guitars is actually enough to make one feel as if he/she were sinking among spent the artillery shells, shrapnel and corpses after a hull breach, but it wouldn't have hurt to indulge in some sonar, watery effects or even samples and help emphasize the concept. Which is in of itself an interesting one, and one that Humiliation should continue to explore, only using a more creative set of guitar riffs. As it stands, Turbulence from the Deep just anchors itself among its influences and plays it too close to the ammo-belt. Decent stuff, for sure, but ultimately not so interesting as I had hoped.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com