Reviewed - 10/15/05

Congregating The Stick
[Karmageddon Records]

For most Dan Swano fans, Ribspreader is Swano project number too many to count but for everyone else, Ribspreader has been easily dismissed as Bloodbath clone with their debut slab of impressive old school flavored death metal entitled “Bolted to the Cross.” Swano has since left, as has guitarist/bassist Andreas Carlsson leaving founding member, vocalist/guitarist Rogga Johansson, to utilize new members. Rogga found them in bassist Patrik Halvarsson and drummer Matte Fiebig (both ex-Paingazer) and wrought Ribspreader’s second opus, “Congregating the Sick.”

While Ribspreader may be a mess of personnel changes one thing has remained constant; Ribspreader’s ability to create old school death metal in the vein of early Entombed, Unleashed, and Dismember except Ribspreader is a bit more groove laden (i.e. Grave) and less melodic. Therefore, the band really isn’t riding on Bloodbath’s coattails. Rogga’s guttural vocal delivery is perfect and all of the guitar solos are impressively focused rather than the typical fret-chaos found on most death metal releases. The production is nothing less than fantastic and fitting. The guitars are grinding a tad below the gurgling vocals while the drums are thick and audible. Sadly, this album was produced and mixed by the late Mieszki Talarczyk (Nasum/Genocide SS)

When compared to the excellent “Bolted to the Cross,” “Congregating the Sick” finds Ribspreader writing and performing painfully by rote. Ribspreader’s first album was much more inspired. Every track on “Congregating” sounds quite similar to the other as the tempo never really changes and the riffing is painfully formulaic. “Autopsy Obsessed” and “Morbid Reflections” are the two strongest tracks. “Breeding the Sickness” contains fantastic soloing, but the riff is recycled from the previous track. “Maggots (Fucking Maggots)” is fun because of the chorus, but in the end, the majority of “Congregating the Sick” is too formulaic and if you aren’t paying attention, it sounds like “Autopsy Obsessed” 9 times over.

Only die-hard fans of mid-paced European styled death metal need apply to “Congregating the Sick.” While the album isn’t a painful listen, it isn’t rewarding. If you really want to give Ribspreader a try, head straight for the impressive “Bolted to the Cross.” It is a vastly superior album.

Unfortunately, since the release of “Congregating the Sick,” the members of Ribspreader have gone their separate ways. Perhaps this is why “Congregating” is such a lackluster epitaph for a band that showed great promise.