Stillbirth Machine

The word "Classic" isn't a word I throw around lightly. Classics must be ahead of their time, innovative yet grounded in the best tradition of metal's basic framework. Order From Chaos's full-length debut is one such album that aptly embodies this definition.

What we get here is 35 minutes of crushing, horrific death metal insanity. There's not one blastbeat or grindcore-based riff to be found here - it's pure, old school violence in the great Hellhammer/Possessed tradition. That said, I doubt Tom G Warrior or Jeff Becerra ever imagined that their brainchild would grow to give birth to such a monstrous, entrail-ripping beast such as "Stillbirth Machine". This is truly horrible music, searing insanity made sound, wrapped in an abrasive, horrendously distorted wall-of-noise production, rawer than a steak that's still on the cow. Helmkamp's vocals belch over the top of the cacophony like some enraged ghoul, while the guitars run through a series of ear-ripping riffs underpinned by fuzz-encrusted bass abuse and a neverending gamut of time changes. The drumming is quite primal, often sounding like the drummer is struggling to keep up with the band, but it works. Oh yes, it fucking works.

The haunting buildup of "The Edge of Forever" gives way to a seething mess of violence, pulverizing all eardrums within range. The songs switch easily between monstrous brutality and pummeling thrash-fueled aggression, never bothering to slow down or allow room for pointless acoustic interludes... and keyboards? These guys would probably smash a keyboard into jagged pieces of plastic if they ever saw one in the studio. The intro is the only non-metal-based piece of music on here, and it's ripped from 2001 - A Space Odyssey anyway. Otherwise, the entire album is just a spiked fist to the face. Other highlights include the short, violent "Iconoclasm Conquest" and the album's high point IMO, the pounding deathhammer that is "Blood And Thunder". And after that, the bass shreds into action again for the final death-charge of "As The Body Falls Away", which is literally the ultimate take-no-fucking-prisoners death metal anthem.

Buy this if you can find it, or just download the fucker if you can't. You simply can't afford to exist any longer without hearing it.