Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2016 18:57:15 GMT -6
Excision - Brutal Days
Year: 2002
Genre: Experimental Death Metal
Excision is an old project of Jeff Arwadi, most known for his work in Kekal but also in the black metal bands Armageddon Holocaust and Doctor D. Excision reminds me more of Kekal than any of the other two mentioned bands thanks to its bizarre experimentation and powerful riffing, but it still has a sound of its own that distinguishes it from Arwadi's other music. Brutal Days is a compilation featuring songs from Excision's first two releases, Manipulation of Response and The Quality of Mankind. Though the latter was released after the former, it is featured first in the compilation for whatever reason, so I will review them in that order.
The tracks from The Quality of Mankind are fast and furious death metal with insane riffs. Although this is death metal, tremolo riffs are still frequent, and sometimes create a slightly blackened feeling. These songs are one of the few instances I can think of in which a band managed to pull off technicality and memorability at the same time, and it's fantastic. You'll encounter strange time signatures, and tempo changes inevitably come with them. The drumming is fantastic and precise, erratic enough to match the nature of the music but still coherent enough to be enjoyable. There is a great amount of vocal variety here too, as the songs feature very low, death metal growling, but also a slightly higher growl. Experimentation exists outside of the metal aspects of the songs as well. "Intro" is entirely electronic. "Exiled to Nowhereland" slows down in the middle and enters a long, foreboding ambient section featuring talking that sounds like it's in another language (probably Indonesian). "The Quality of Mankind" is a weird track, featuring lots of distorted electronics and drums providing a background for harsh, indecipherable growling. It's all really unique and awesome.
The songs from Manipulation of Response are even weirder. In general, these songs are slightly more black metal-oriented than The Quality of Mankind. The guitar sound is a little thinner and the songs feature more blasting, particularly in "Subconscious Incubation", which reminds me a little of Bealiah vocally. Of the four tracks, "InHarmony" most resembles The Quality of Mankind, but still sounds different enough to distinguish itself. There is a good amount of variety in these four tracks, in terms of vocals and also composition. "InHarmony" contains a very low half-growl, half-groan. "Manipulation of Response" has fairly typical black metal growling but it's very distorted. "Technological Ignorance" features an aggressive, half-yell, half-scream. "Subconscious Incubation" contains very high shrieking that is reminiscent of Bealiah, as I mentioned before. Each song has its own compositional uniqueness as well. "Manipulation of Response" feels simply like black/death metal with unorthodox riffs. "Technological Ignorance" has industrial elements, but overall feels similar to "Manipulation of Response". "Subconscious Incubation" is a furious, noisy drum-fest that calms down a little in the middle. Each song has its own identity, and that statement carries throughout all of Brutal Days, not just Manipulation of Response.
The last track on Brutal Days, "Purpose", wasn't featured on either of the two releases or on any Excision releases that came after it, so it's exclusive to this compilation. It's also my favorite song out of all of them. It contains the half-yell, half-scream of "Technological Ignorance", and features riffs that feel like a mix between Manipulation of Response and The Quality of Mankind. It also has the catchiest riff in the entire compilation, a little tremolo riff that appears a couple times in the song. It also has the weird time signatures that I love. It's an amazing song to finish off an amazing compilation.
Overall, this is an awesome piece of truly original death metal that most fans of early Kekal will probably enjoy.
96/100
-CrimsonWarrior
This compilation is rare. If you ever find it, buy it.
You can listen to it here.
Year: 2002
Genre: Experimental Death Metal
Excision is an old project of Jeff Arwadi, most known for his work in Kekal but also in the black metal bands Armageddon Holocaust and Doctor D. Excision reminds me more of Kekal than any of the other two mentioned bands thanks to its bizarre experimentation and powerful riffing, but it still has a sound of its own that distinguishes it from Arwadi's other music. Brutal Days is a compilation featuring songs from Excision's first two releases, Manipulation of Response and The Quality of Mankind. Though the latter was released after the former, it is featured first in the compilation for whatever reason, so I will review them in that order.
The tracks from The Quality of Mankind are fast and furious death metal with insane riffs. Although this is death metal, tremolo riffs are still frequent, and sometimes create a slightly blackened feeling. These songs are one of the few instances I can think of in which a band managed to pull off technicality and memorability at the same time, and it's fantastic. You'll encounter strange time signatures, and tempo changes inevitably come with them. The drumming is fantastic and precise, erratic enough to match the nature of the music but still coherent enough to be enjoyable. There is a great amount of vocal variety here too, as the songs feature very low, death metal growling, but also a slightly higher growl. Experimentation exists outside of the metal aspects of the songs as well. "Intro" is entirely electronic. "Exiled to Nowhereland" slows down in the middle and enters a long, foreboding ambient section featuring talking that sounds like it's in another language (probably Indonesian). "The Quality of Mankind" is a weird track, featuring lots of distorted electronics and drums providing a background for harsh, indecipherable growling. It's all really unique and awesome.
The songs from Manipulation of Response are even weirder. In general, these songs are slightly more black metal-oriented than The Quality of Mankind. The guitar sound is a little thinner and the songs feature more blasting, particularly in "Subconscious Incubation", which reminds me a little of Bealiah vocally. Of the four tracks, "InHarmony" most resembles The Quality of Mankind, but still sounds different enough to distinguish itself. There is a good amount of variety in these four tracks, in terms of vocals and also composition. "InHarmony" contains a very low half-growl, half-groan. "Manipulation of Response" has fairly typical black metal growling but it's very distorted. "Technological Ignorance" features an aggressive, half-yell, half-scream. "Subconscious Incubation" contains very high shrieking that is reminiscent of Bealiah, as I mentioned before. Each song has its own compositional uniqueness as well. "Manipulation of Response" feels simply like black/death metal with unorthodox riffs. "Technological Ignorance" has industrial elements, but overall feels similar to "Manipulation of Response". "Subconscious Incubation" is a furious, noisy drum-fest that calms down a little in the middle. Each song has its own identity, and that statement carries throughout all of Brutal Days, not just Manipulation of Response.
The last track on Brutal Days, "Purpose", wasn't featured on either of the two releases or on any Excision releases that came after it, so it's exclusive to this compilation. It's also my favorite song out of all of them. It contains the half-yell, half-scream of "Technological Ignorance", and features riffs that feel like a mix between Manipulation of Response and The Quality of Mankind. It also has the catchiest riff in the entire compilation, a little tremolo riff that appears a couple times in the song. It also has the weird time signatures that I love. It's an amazing song to finish off an amazing compilation.
Overall, this is an awesome piece of truly original death metal that most fans of early Kekal will probably enjoy.
96/100
-CrimsonWarrior
This compilation is rare. If you ever find it, buy it.
You can listen to it here.