Dying Fetus - Descend into Depravity

October 2, 2009

Reviewer: Rottenbucher

After quickly losing guitarist Mike Kimball and drummer Duane Timlin after the release of the fierce War of Attrition, it looked like it would be another long gap before Dying Fetus would regroup. That wasn't the case. Band founder John Gallagher and bassist/vocalist Sean Beasley picked up drummer Trey Williams and descended upon the road and into the studio.  Out comes the most vicious Dying Fetus album since Destroy the Opposition. Now Death Metal's mightiest power-trio, the streamlined Dying Fetus turns around with another brass-knuckled gut punch with Descend into Depravity.

Right from the start with "Your Treachery Will Die With You," the band unleashed their standard issue barbaric and brutal formula.  The riffs move between chunky to fluid back to the chunk and on to grind. Drummer Trey Williams keeps the pace with insane ease and Beasley's bass is high and mighty in the mix.  Even more ten-ton riffs appear on the ferocious "Shepherd’s Commandment." Gallagher ties out some pretty classy melodies and believe it or not, they fit in nicely with the cement mixing gurgles and grindings. "Hopeless Insurrection" is an ADHD fit while both "Conceived into Enslavement" and "Atrocious by Nature" feature grooves that hit harder than boulders colliding coupled with blistering speeds. The title track features mighty molten riffing fused with heaps of aggression. "At What Price?" finds time to allow the band a bit of breathing room with some of the riffs and even a rare solo. But even with these moments, the jack hammering outbursts still command the song. Album closer, "Ethos of Coercion" is a wicked collection of some schizophrenic riffs and dizzying tempos that is a bit too brief.

While gaining no new ground, Descend into Depravity is Dying Fetus doing what they do best. Fans of the band will certainly enjoy this while those that weren't impressed by the band's previous offerings won't find anything to win them over here either. The band sounds a bit more aggressive and ornery here than on the past few releases and the production on the album is probably the best the band has had. Plain and simple, Descend into Depravity  is another bludgeoning batch of hyper-violent, massively aggressive Death Metal from a band that has made a career not skimping on brutality. 

Release Date: September 15, 2009
Label: Relapse Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Your Treachery Will
      Die With You
2.  Shepherd’s Commandment
3.  Hopeless Insurrection
4.  Conceived into Enslavement
5.  Atrocious by Nature
6.  Descend into Depravity
7.  At What Expense?
8.  Ethos of Coercion

Total playing time:  33:45

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