Metal Reviews

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I'd probably dock it another 10 points, personally. It doesn't really catch on like their last album did with me, and so many songs just seem like " omg lets go crazy because we can "... Nothing really gels.

even a kinda sub-par score wont keep me away.

I loved their last album, and they really got me back into the tech death world.

seeing as how I am not a nut for modern death metal, I may like this because it will still sound fresh and new for me. who knows.

93 for me. A slight step up from Diminished imo.

well now I don't know what to think

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM !

technical death metaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal?

me: wrong thread.

heh, after reading your review again and checking out your profile I have to ask, are you even a fan of this style of music? I mean no offense at all, it just seems like you aren't particularly taken with the genre and instead are more into prog and traditional heavy metal

Comparing them to Origin is pretty bad policy, considering Decrepit Birth include discernable riffs as opposed to shitty Origin. Suffice to say Polarity wasn't as amazing as Diminishing between worlds, and well the band is in somewhat of a creative hole now.

Origin = shitty

you = fail

not the response I was expecting

Listen to Hour of Penance or Fleshgod Apocalypse, much much better than Origin.

maybe one day I will, but I doubt either band will stop me from enjoying Origin.

I am a fan of all types of heavy metal music whether it be Sunn 0))), Cannibal Corpse or Helloween. Every genre has something to offer and while prog seems to take my number 1 spot, I love all genres of heavy metal in their own way.

Decrepit Birth are a band that I have known for a long time and I finally got a chance to sit down and force myself through the entire album. No matter how good the songs might sound individually, if I cannot listen to the entire thing in one sitting without becoming mindnumbingly bored, then the album suffers because of this.

It's a step up from bands like Brain Drill and Viraemia who play notes for the sake of them with no sense of songwriting, but Decrepit Birth are still a couple notches down because they only know how to write one type of song. Once you have one that is better than the others, all of the other songs become obsolete because they have nothing to offer that the best song can't.

It's the same reason why Nile's popularity has faded. They haven't gotten worse, they just have nothing to offer that people haven't heard a million times over.

Some people might be happy with settling, but I know that the band is better than this and that if they stop showing off and start writing songs that you can care about on more than an outwardly aesthetic level then they can write a fantastic album.

There are times when you should put your serious hat away and put on your party hat and just enjoy the fun of it, but I have a very good feeling that Decrepit Birth want to be taken seriously as artists. If that's the case then they can handle the required expectations and criticisms. I take my tastes very seriously and I think that if I wasn't equipped enough to review the album I wouldn't.

And to defend my Origin comparison. It is not in sound that they are similar but in delivery. Both bands have one trick that they are very good at and aren't much interested in anything else. In my opinion Origin tries to play with this trick in as many ways possible so that it doesn't become stale. Decrepit Birth seems to just be scraping the sides of the creative pot.

Polarity, I would say, is somewhat muted compared to Diminishing and I actually prefer Polarity. It is not as brutal, but that's an improvement to me. It's more nuanced and almost elegant. Now having said that, I just jammed it again and I was on song 8 when I thought I was on number 4, so, yeah, there are little touches here and there to keep it from being the same song the whole time, but it definitely blends together due to an overall lack of variety. I happen to love this shit, so I will keep listening to it for sure, but I think the review is right on.

Hour of Penance is more straight forward brutal death - a true blast fest. Fleshgod is cool but they're a stunt band to me. I like Antithesis but Origin is a speed band more than a tech band, the only good "song" on that record is the last one (title track).

If you want tech death par excellence, Obscura's Cosmogenesis remains the gold standard.

I agree with this besides the jab at Fleshgod.

Haven't heard this one yet. I need to really delve into some Decrepit Birth.

I don't get what the problem is. It seems some people are ripping on this just because its a technical death album. There is plenty to sink your teeth into besides all the complexities. This album is quite experimental, at least for a tech death album, and just like Diminished, it comes loaded up with some awesome melodies and solos. Also pointing out that the vocals are repetitive is pretty pointless, this is a death metal album after all.

Perhaps its because I'm so used to listening to the genre but I don't have a problem distinguishing songs from one another, and I hear plenty of 'meaning' or soul behind all the music. That seems to be most peoples complaint about tech death, but this is not Brain Drill, not even close.

Also I disagree about the Nile bit. They really have just degenerated in the song writing department over the years, though its still quite a bit better than most death metal. Thats not really abnormal, many bands pop out their best work early on and then spend the rest of their career in its shadow. I never expected them to top Catacombs or Shrines but everything after has still been pretty enjoyable.

No. That's still far too noodly.