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Death metal isn’t exactly the type of music I seek out but, for the most part, when it’s handed to me for review, I give it a fair listen and usually really like what I hear, as on this filthy slab of vomit.
Macabra are an international duo: The music is supplied by Mark Riddick, perhaps best known for his gruesome cover art on underground metal releases, though he’s recorded with Unearthed, Equimanthorn and Virginia’s Unburied (to name a few), and by himself as Fetid Zombie – quite possibly my favorite death metal act ever. French/Belgian Adrien “Liquifier” Weber, formerly of Crux Dissimulata, Lüger and Vociferian, currently of Alienante Damnation, supplies the vocals.
The first five tracks are pretty standard, though roughly recorded and excellently executed, death metal full of gutteral vocals, frenzied syncopation and technical virtuosity, but on “Thick Slabs of Moribund Fat,” things get really interesting with the introduction of keyboards, slightly slower tempos and a goth-y feel. “Contribution to Your Dis-Elaboration” takes it even further, blending black and doom elements into the death metal frenzy. The closing “Exile of Sanity” ends things on a high note with a strong death metal thrasher.
Black metal, for some reason, has been embraced by the hipster community as something cool, while it seems death metal, unfairly, has been ignored. Like I said, it’s not necessarily my style but, given a fair chance, it’s rather enjoyable. Give Blood-Nurtured Nature a listen, then hunt down the Fetid Zombie stuff. Trust me, it’s worth it.
