Electrocution - Inside the Unreal
Goregorecords
Death Metal
10 songs (36:57)
Release year: 2012
Goregorecords (Aural Music)
Reviewed by Charles
Old school death metal is currently in rude health, so this rerelease of Electrocution’s long-lost sort-of-classic Inside the Unreal is likely to find a very warm reception. Italian bands were fairly rare in the death metal scene of the early 90s, but this album meshed very closely with what was going on in the US at the time. It gathered a cult following but has been long out of print, until this remaster, to celebrate its 20th (er, surely 19th?) Anniversary.

In many ways, this is really the archetypal 1993 album, rooted in a traditional death metal sound but flirting with altogether stranger aspects. The band later followed Atheist and Cynic into spacey realms (the Water Mirror EP has a truly demented Elements vibe), and you can just about discern the beginnings of that trajectory here. Don’t read too much into this: it would be wildly misleading to compare this to Unquestionable Presence, let alone Focus. Generally, this is altogether more primitive, with a thrashily energetic approach in many ways resembling early Pestilence. Nonetheless, the twisting, tangled riffing of second track Rising of Infection carries a strong likeness to songs such as Mother Man, down to its sudden bass and drum fusion breakdown. Admittedly, listened to in an age where technical wizardry is all the rage in extreme metal the latter element sounds somewhat dated, but for the most part Electrocution’s pounding death metal forcefulness, tinged with technicality, sounds wonderfully fresh.

One sense in which there clearly is a strong connection to the proggier ends of death is in the way the songwriting twists and turns with such heavyweight agility. Songs are often fast and aggressive, but they are also unpredictable, regularly diverting into scratchy proto-blastbeats or Obituary-like grooves. At the same time, though, a sense of deep primitivism lurks constantly. Closer Bells of the End (a puerile joke?) strongly suggests the first few Sepultura albums, for example. These sides to are all nicely balanced in Electrocution’s sound. Oh, and before I finish, all of this is presided over by Mick Montaguti’s splendidly guttural vocals. Some great death metal here, ready to be rediscovered.

Killing Songs :
Rising of Infection, Bells of the End
Charles quoted 85 / 100
Other albums by Electrocution that we have reviewed:
Electrocution - Metaphysincarnation reviewed by Charles and quoted 75 / 100
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