Blossoming Decay

On Blossoming Decay, Noisem play really angry death/thrash/grind music. Why are they angry? Is it the destruction of the environment, the implosion of the middle east, the replacement of human values with mindless consumerism? Or is it because they play mindlessly angry death/thrash/grind music?

The music is basically ramped up Slayer with larynx shredding hardcore vocals, generous dollops of Napalm Death, early death metal riffage and blast beats. That sounds like a pretty good combo doesn't it?

Except we've already heard just about every riff Slayer could ever come up with in a million years. We've already heard these kind of death metal and grindcore riffs a billion times too.

It barrels along angrily and mindlessly. Every time it shows even a hint of doing something interesting, the band goes back to barrelling along mindlessly. It does slow down at one point at the end of the fifth track, "Hostile End," plods along for a bit and then gets back to angry death/thrash/grind for the rest of it.

And herein lies the problem. Each track on its own is enjoyable. And all the tracks are enjoyable because they sound essentially the same. So combined into an album it sounds like one long angry track with a mindless ploddy bit in the middle. At least the album is short enough to not get totally sick of it.

It's a real shame because Noisem have a potentially winning formula. They just need to learn to expand on those interesting bits and not just revert to belting out rehashed thrash, death or grind bits that all sound exactly the same.

And while they're at it, they might want to consider some aromatherapy. All that anger can't be good for you