Feasting on Blood

Calling the low-lying Dutch lands home, Severe Torture are one of those bands that make me wonder if the Dutch death metal scene really was better than the bizzare, macabre riffs of the Finnish scene (my current favorite place for OSDM). The former created hookier, doomier metal historically, but the Netherlands continued to be a hotbed of inspiration in the wake of an evolving climate (Disavowed, Pyaemia, Prostitute Disfigurement, Arsebreed). The Finnish scene, on the other hand, adapted changes that didn't resonate with the extreme metal underground at large, with many of the prevailing groups adopting awkward death 'n'roll fusions (Disgrace, Belial) or abandoning metal altogether (Xysma).

Feasting on Blood really caught my attention when I was diving into the murky underbelly of brutal death metal for the very first time. The slammy bands and the nigh-robotic precision of the ultra technical bands took consistent effort not to turn off at first, but amongst all of the pinch harmonics, pingy snares, and jackhammer-style production, Severe Torture didn't seem to have any of that. In my mind, it was a clear and consistent evolution from the tremolo-saturated stylings of the old school, and this album is MUCH better off embracing those qualities.

The chunkiness that one would come to expect in brutal death isn't all too present here - like the all-out blasting madness of the techy Gorgasm and the grindy Deranged and Brodequin, Severe Torture's take on brutality is less on groove and more on bludgenoning the listener with riff after juicy riff. The momentum never stops with these guys, and I'm all for this sort of uncompromised sound. The trademark features that other bands adopted in the late 90s doesn't seem to be as emphasized nearly as much, which is why I'm making the case that old-school fans would appreciate this a little more. From the more conventional blasphemous lyrics and generalized approches towards death and destruction, the all-out splatter Cannibal Corpse pioneered isn't the name of the game either.

The tuning tends to be higher too. With other bands experimenting with C standard, B standard, and even A standard if you're Nile or Malignancy, the Dutch giants of the brutal death scene didn't opt for the chunkier sound that favors thicker string gauges. This tended to give the riffs lots more clairty and precision, a trait that favors this genre exceptionally well. As refined as the overall sound was, I think it could have benefitted from a slightly shorter runtime. Unless a band is opting for an ambitious or cinematic approach, I have a hard time staying engaged with albums in this genre for more than 35 minutes. The impact, shock factor, and overall brutality, for a lack of a better word, continue to stay fresh when it doesn't overstay its welcome, yet it is a VERY minor complaint when Severe Torture's brand of sonic annihilation is as effective as it is.

If you're looking for brutal death that's more or less old-school death with a gnarlier, more rotten twist to it, then Feasting on Blood should be right up your alley. It doesn't innovate all that much, but it's just a solid example of this genre, and that's really all you need when you just wanna regress to the sound of barbarity incarnate. Highly recommend.

A lot of decent brutal acts emerged in the Netherlands in this cramped span placed between two millenia. From north and south, bands like Prostitute Disfigurement, Pyaemia, Houwitser, Disavowed were releasing fresh and juicy brutal death metal records. The reviewed band hails from Boxtel, Noord-Brabant and released its first effort on a big local label Hammerheart Records. That album cover is as menacing as you expect - the monster tears another victim to pieces. But is the CD's containment as good as its cover art?

This is a quite speedy album, almost all the material has extremely fast pace, with very few exceptions (like this undoubtedly heavy, pounding tritone on "Baptized..." that I consider one of the best songs in the genre). Riffs can get a bit more complicated, shifting towards New York stylings but mostly it's plain 4/4 that is heavy as hell and very easy to keep track of, which is a very good advantage of this album for less crazy metalheads who haven't been wormed yet (ha-ha). This album has all the best sides from bands like Dying Fetus, Morbid Angel and Avulsed, but mostly people like to describe it as Cannibal Corpse that actually went full on, no bullshit brutal death. This release also has a remarkable, sharp and heavy guitar sound - props to excellent musician and engineer, Dead Head and Beyond Belief member Robbie Woning. The band members are not too shy to hide their craftsmanship - Boleij's bass is very solid with its earned bright spots there and there, Seth van de Loo's drumming feels exceptional and yet simple enough to feel like perfect example of how a chrestomathical brutal DM album would be like. Dennis Schreurs uses very aggressive vocal techniques and it's impossible to tell most of the words but it works anyway, so aggressive and mean he is. Thijs van Laarhoven is the sole guitarist on the album, and as mentioned earlier, he did a solid job on this one, but not exactly marvellous, plain riffing without resorting to 50 sweeping arpeggios and lengthy solos. A lot of lyrics are considered lost media now, since the band did not bother to provide the texts on a booklet, but from those that remain you still can figure out the direction of this music - anti-Christianity and grotesque, gory violence. There also were 2 bonus tracks - and if "Lambs of a God" seems to be yet another one in vein of all previous songs, "Taking Down the Descender" seems a bit different and piques curiosity.

So, in conclusion: this makes for the greatest textbook example of brutal death metal album. No dirt, no grease, no alien structures. This is what kids should scrutinize and look after when trying to become new brutalizmo heroes. This album seems so smooth and slick - no filler, all kills you, slams you on the floor of bones and flesh. Totally recommended for anyone who stays brutal!

Originally written for https://www.darkside.ru/album/16199/

I have always had a preference for European (especially Dutch) bands in death metal, and it wasn't going to be different with this pretty much brutal Dutch band, Severe Torture. This is intense brutal death metal, quite fast and aggressive, pretty technical with a touch of melody (not that Gothenburg kind of melody though), and somehow Cannibal Corpse (Eaten Back to Life era) oriented.

Guitar riffs are fast and twisted but easily recognizable, not the intricate type. There's a hint of melody in the riffs, which makes this album more interesting since it's not just cold fast chugging. This "melodic" approach gives a different ambient to the album; the music in this album is actually very brutal, but it steps aside of the ultra brutal side of the scene. The guitars are quite catchy as well and are recorded very balanced with the rest of the instruments.

Bass guitar is pick-played and it follows guitars note by note, but to my surprise it's clearly audible, unlike what's usual in death metal. I can't understand why bass guitar is usually so easily covered by the rest of the instruments in death metal, given the fact that a louder bass will provide an even more powerful sound to the band. That's why I pay some extra attention to bands with a really present bass like Severe Torture. Bass guitar here is pretty distorted but it's very present throughout the whole record, adding for the brutal result. As usual in the genre, there are also some bass solos in the beginning of some tracks.

Drums are fast, aggressive and brutal. There are fast double bass drums and blast beats almost on every track, and varied fills, rolls and drum patterns, with varied use or crashes and an extensive use of raid almost everywhere, but I don't find that a flaw (at least in this record). The overall speed here is quite fast, but there are also some tempo changes from nearly doomy parts (very few and far between), some mid-tempos to hyper fast blasting brutality, really varied so that the band never gets boring.

Vocals are pretty brutal, being always deep growls; the typical death metal ogre, deep, low and brutal with very few variation, yet quite catchy even though he's not understandable. Lyrics are the typical in death metal: violent, gore-oriented and some antirreligious, not as much as Deicide though, but a little blaspheme.

Definitely, a great debut from a brutal Dutch act. If you like your death metal pretty brutal, aggressive and technical yet original, you shouldn't miss this album out. Highly recommended!!

Severe Torture is another brutal and sick band from the Netherlands. They are very good competitors with their fellow country mates of Disavowed and Pyaemia. This CD is all about fast passed drumming, catchy; technical fast picking riffs and deep vocals.The drummer is brilliant. His feet don’t stop!! It seems like he just won’t tire out. The sounds of the bass drums aren’t much to my liking. Personally I prefer a triggered sound like that of Decrepit Birth and Hate Eternal, but it gives the drummer a very unique sound since I never heard any other band with the same set-up as his.

The best track in this album is by far,”Butchery of the Soul”. It has loads of good riffs, which are fitted perfectly with the drumbeats. The riffs in this song are very catchy yet pretty complex and anyone who listens to this song is bound to want to hear it over and over again.The cover art is brutal and grave whilst the recording is much more than passable. I recommend this CD to any brutal death metal fans.