The Extinction of Benevolence

Internal Bleeding’s second record shows the band continuing what they started in the early demos and “Voracious Contempt”. Out of all their albums, this is probably the last album where they’re playing full-on slam. Later albums adopt way more hardcore flares, while these first two albums have it spliced in here and there. Regardless “The Extinction of Benevolence” shows the band at its heaviest stage. Showcasing why this is one of my favorite albums by the band.

Right away this album is balls to the wall with brutality. It’s in your face and constantly being obnoxious and heavy. This record maintains the power of groove that the debut record held and used so passionately. However, with this record, Internal Bleeding takes that into slower and heavier measures. Utilizing lower vocals, slow chunky breakdowns, and crippling blast beats. There are also samples used in this album, along with slightly longer songs that can go into 6 minutes. The last long “Cycle of Vehemence” however is a 22-minute song. Which features only a few minutes of music while everything else is just quiet noise. So that’s the only negative I have for this record per se.

Focusing on the production/mix of this album. The guitar tone is beefier than ever, the drums are loud and poppy, and the vocals are low and monstrous. The only small complaint I have is the bass. It isn’t as loud and as poppy as it was on “Voracious Contempt”. But the nice chunky guitar and drum tones make up for it. And the songs themselves of course. Because each song is a ruthless beatdown of amazing slamming brutal death metal. The production is raw, fuzzy, and engaging. Making this album sound fantastic. I just wish the bass was more prominent so I could hear it groove like it does in the debut record.

Frank Rini has slightly altered his vocal style on this record. He still has great enunciation, energy, and nice vocal cadences. However, his vocals are much lower and gurgling. Think of all these modern slam bands using those guttural froggy-sounding like gurgles. This is one of the very first examples. His gurgles sound very burping and frog-like. He also uses a lot of growling hardcore shouts. And he has his usual mid-range growls and snarls. Even during these more burping and frog-like vocals he still maintains good enunciation. He’s a perfect example of how to do slam/brutal death metal vocals perfectly.

Internal Bleeding delivers a very sonically brutal guitar performance. There are tons of slow palm-muted guitar riffs, breakdowns, and pinch harmonics. This record definitely leans more into slower territories than its predecessor. But it still holds on to those bouncy grooves and tremolos that propel the music. There’s just way more slow and punishing breakdowns that are used. The guitars are constantly aggressive, bitter, and rhythmic. Continuing to show how these guys were one of the first bands to lay the blueprint for slam. The album also continues to show those hardcore-tinged riffs here and there.

Bill Tolley (RIP) does a fantastic job on drums once again. His drums are bouncy, rhythmic, and pummeling. Just like with everything else the drums flow with the music in such a brutal and groovy manner. There are tons of bouncy hardcore-tinged beats. But you can’t have an Internal Bleeding album without those crunchy blast beats and tight double bass work. Everything is tight, aggressive, and very smooth. While remaining very primitive and straightforward.

Overall this is yet another gem within the Internal Bleeding catalog. And my personal second favorite album by Internal Bleeding. This is the last album to feature that pure and old-school slam style in my eyes. Each album after this uses way more hardcore beats and riffing. It wasn’t until their most recent efforts that I felt like they were beginning to bring back that old-school style of the early material. But whatever, Internal Bleeding Rule. And this album is amazing.

FFO: Scattered Remnants, Suffocation, Eternal Suffering, Afterbirth, Mortal Decay