Levels of Perception

I will preface this review by stating that as cliché as it may sound, I am generally not as opposed to re-recordings as most metalheads are, nor am I as opposed to bands continuing past their prime (as long as they don’t turn into Six Feet Under). When I heard that a Pestilence “Best Of” album was being created, it left me wondering what exactly they would pick for it. I did not care very much about the AI controversy, but I do certainly think that the new cover is better. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a re-recording. I began to play the album, and was surprised again, but this time, in a much less pleasant manner. At first, its total score of a big fat goose egg seemed outrageous when I first witnessed it, but I can now safely say that it is fully justified, and then some.

This album feels like a parody of death metal, and not a good one. The production is extremely questionable (above that, extremely horrible). It feels like they were purposefully trying to have shitty production in order to mimic the shitty production of 80s death metal, but they don’t even succeed at that. Likewise an unsuccessful attempt is made at mimicking a more guttural style reminiscent of that era. It does not work at all. Nothing here does. What really gets me is the fact that this album contains not only re-recordings of their classic songs, but also some songs from their most recent albums. Pestilence has not just butchered their classic era, but also sabotaged their own attempts to stay relevant in recent years. There is little else to say about the music. No part of this album was executed with nearly as much skill as it should have or could have been.

This album is beyond lazy and it is redundant to ask what the point of creating it was. There is no salvageable material on this album and I really wonder if the band was coerced to do this under the threat of some sensitive information being leaked about them, or if they deliberately decided to put out something so fucking bad that nothing they produce in the future could possibly be considered to be anywhere near as bad as this. “Well, at least it’s not Levels of Perception!”. The only reason I can think of that could possibly make someone want to listen to these songs over the original versions is if they were one of those people who only likes death metal with shitty production quality.

This album is not a cash grab because it doesn’t even succeed at being a cash grab. This album is a flat out scam and I fully expect Agonia Records to be swamped with requests for refunds by the people who made the mistake of buying this album. I now understand why people were so upset by the original cover art, because it was a clear indicator that Pestilence no longer gives a shit. I would have given this album a singular point as a consolation prize for learning from their mistake, but I actually think that the AI cover would now be preferable. By plastering pictures of themselves on the cover, Pestilence have given the impression that they still care about their legacy when that clearly isn’t the case. They should have kept the old artwork because it would have been much more honest about what they are now, and to save themselves from the shame of having their real likeness being put on what is unequivocally their worst work ever.

There is no recovering from this. Pestilence have shot down any remaining goodwill that their future has had with the release of this album. Even if their future works aren’t bad, they will receive much less attention because of this permanent, massive stain on their body of work. If they have any self-awareness, they would use this album to console themselves that they will never produce anything as bad as this ever again, and, in ten years, perhaps they may disavow it, or perhaps produce a re-re-recording that gives these songs a semblance of the treatment that they deserve, but such is certainly not certain.

All in all, Pestilence has produced a strong contender for not only the worst release of 2024, but the worst release of the 2020s and potentially even one of the worst releases of this century. But you know what they say, the bigger they come, the harder they fall.