Reviewed - 12/18/04
Decomposing
[Self Released]
California-the land of fruits and nuts. And I'm not talking about food here. I'm talking about the people that emanate from the land of movie stars and porno movies. California also has been home to some of the most bizarre and innovative metal bands to ever call the USA their home, and that trend of uniqueness and innovation keeps on going in a positive direction with Rotting Stiffs new album "Decomposing".
Now, while Rotting Stiffs don't play any one genre of music that I haven't hear before, they do manage to bring a shitload of different existing styles under one umbrella quite nicely. Here you'll find influences from the genres of death metal, thrash metal, grind, and even a bit of punk and hard-core all coming together to create an impressive listening experience that's quite a fucking joy to listen to. It's like every genre of extreme music I've ever liked from the 1980's to present all wrapped up in one neat gory and maggot-infested little package. All of the musicians sound like they are very skilled, and to be able to play so many different styles of music is quite commendable. The time changes on "Decomposing" come every 30 seconds or so, and this is usually when the band decides to change styles of music as well. They'll play grind for a while, then have a time change and play some death metal for a while, then thrash and then they'll throw you a surprise on their next time change and evolve the song into a more hard-core/punk sound. There are also a few sound samples used for intros which are pretty cool because of the fact that they are short in length and don't drag on like with a lot of bands that use them.
The vocals run the gambit (just like the music) from a grind style, to a more grind shrieking to an insane punk style. Or at least that's how I hear it. No matter what style he's singing in, the vocalist is fucking great. You can tell on an album if the vocalist was unsure of himself when he recorded his vocal tracks, and this guy obviously wasn't and a very strong vocal delivery was the result. The lyrics deal with horror/death/gore and hey, there's even an anti war song on here for the heavy metal hippies.
The production, while not the best, is damn good for a self released album. The bass drums could have been more out in the front than they are, but that's about the only fault I can find with the production really.
The packaging of the album is pretty decent if nothing great. Look at the cover art. Look a bit familiar? It looks an awful lot to me like the concept to the cover of Exodus's "Tempo Of The Damned", only this was released before Exodus's album and this one is in black and white. Either way, it's always great to see a reanimated corpse getting down with a piano. Corpses need music too. The inside of the booklet contains all of the lyrics plus some live shots of the band. One guy is wearing a handkerchief over his face. I still haven't made my mind up if he has allergies or if he's a terrorist of some sort.
In all honesty, "Decomposing" is one of the best self released albums I've heard in quite a while. It's new, yet it brings back to life a few genres that I wish were more prevalent in this day and age. Anyone into any sort of extreme metal would be doing themselves a favor by picking this album up because no matter what style of metal you're into, I'm sure it's contained somewhere on this album.
[Self Released]
California-the land of fruits and nuts. And I'm not talking about food here. I'm talking about the people that emanate from the land of movie stars and porno movies. California also has been home to some of the most bizarre and innovative metal bands to ever call the USA their home, and that trend of uniqueness and innovation keeps on going in a positive direction with Rotting Stiffs new album "Decomposing".
Now, while Rotting Stiffs don't play any one genre of music that I haven't hear before, they do manage to bring a shitload of different existing styles under one umbrella quite nicely. Here you'll find influences from the genres of death metal, thrash metal, grind, and even a bit of punk and hard-core all coming together to create an impressive listening experience that's quite a fucking joy to listen to. It's like every genre of extreme music I've ever liked from the 1980's to present all wrapped up in one neat gory and maggot-infested little package. All of the musicians sound like they are very skilled, and to be able to play so many different styles of music is quite commendable. The time changes on "Decomposing" come every 30 seconds or so, and this is usually when the band decides to change styles of music as well. They'll play grind for a while, then have a time change and play some death metal for a while, then thrash and then they'll throw you a surprise on their next time change and evolve the song into a more hard-core/punk sound. There are also a few sound samples used for intros which are pretty cool because of the fact that they are short in length and don't drag on like with a lot of bands that use them.
The vocals run the gambit (just like the music) from a grind style, to a more grind shrieking to an insane punk style. Or at least that's how I hear it. No matter what style he's singing in, the vocalist is fucking great. You can tell on an album if the vocalist was unsure of himself when he recorded his vocal tracks, and this guy obviously wasn't and a very strong vocal delivery was the result. The lyrics deal with horror/death/gore and hey, there's even an anti war song on here for the heavy metal hippies.
The production, while not the best, is damn good for a self released album. The bass drums could have been more out in the front than they are, but that's about the only fault I can find with the production really.
The packaging of the album is pretty decent if nothing great. Look at the cover art. Look a bit familiar? It looks an awful lot to me like the concept to the cover of Exodus's "Tempo Of The Damned", only this was released before Exodus's album and this one is in black and white. Either way, it's always great to see a reanimated corpse getting down with a piano. Corpses need music too. The inside of the booklet contains all of the lyrics plus some live shots of the band. One guy is wearing a handkerchief over his face. I still haven't made my mind up if he has allergies or if he's a terrorist of some sort.
In all honesty, "Decomposing" is one of the best self released albums I've heard in quite a while. It's new, yet it brings back to life a few genres that I wish were more prevalent in this day and age. Anyone into any sort of extreme metal would be doing themselves a favor by picking this album up because no matter what style of metal you're into, I'm sure it's contained somewhere on this album.
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Tracklist:
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| Rating: 8.5/10 | |
| Release Date: 2003 | |
| Length: 29:15 | |
| Review By: Britton Dicks | |
| Total Reviews: (1) | |
| Bands Website: Go Here | |
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