Origin - Antithesis (2008) By Fat Jenk

Band: Origin
Album: Antithesis (2008)
Death metallers Origin have reunited with their best previous lineup, and have put forth the effort to make their most brutal and insane album ever. Did they accomplish that task? I for one am going to have to say YES. This album is a success in my opinion, and it separates Origin from the trendy pussies and mediocre hacks in the death metal genre.
Many people, myself included, bitch about new school "slam" wigger shit that is called "death metal" but is really just pretty much growl gurgled hip hop with really slow and sophomoric guitar crap blasted through high dollar amps for accompaniment. If you were under the impression that this is Origin’s M.O., let me clarify that for you. Origin is really fast and technical brutal death metal, and they don’t have any gay little "slam" parts. So quit throwing them into that category, because that’s not their style at all.
On this new album, the songs have far more intense and dynamic rythems, with a bit more basic and accessible arrangements. The phrases throughout each song are generally a real technical feat. From beginning to end there are only a handful of patterns that aren’t over the top in speed and technicality, and quite honestly sound as if they practiced them FOREVER to get them tight. One thing that sticks out with this album is how tight they play. Previous efforts have been really technical and dynamic, but recordings were kept with a bit of sloppy play. This time, they nailed almost every phrase on the whole album. So, if you are a fan of ultra fast feats of pure speed, this album is for you.
The guitars have improved dramatically from previous efforts. New are the addition of decently performed and well written guitar solos. Not a whole lot of them are in the album, and I wouldn’t say they are wanky or cheesy, but they are well placed and add a bit of "wow" factor. Origin’s trademark mid-rythem chord sweeps are ever present, and have also been improved to the point of perfection. They make guitar acrobatics sound easy on a lot of fronts. At this point, their techniques of choice have been improved to perfection, while they simply don’t use other techniques at all. It’s also really fun to listen to, and that’s what matters most.
The drums on this recording are absolutely devastating and honestly I feel they raise the bar for this kind of high speed playing. Gravity blasts are present as usual, but every single death metal drumming technique I have ever heard of is used on this album and is used at outrageous speeds and always consistent. The only thing they could do to make the drums more ridiculously technical would be to add ¾ and 7/4 patterns or something that is just a challenge to count. Pretty much the whole album is in basic 4/4 time signature, so there is in fact other methods of adding technical features to the drums and songwriting, but I highly doubt that would pose much of a challenge to this drummer. Any thinking person would admit that you can’t get better drums than are present on this album.
Vocals on this record are really good for death metal. Death metal vocals are flawed from design as far as dynamics, but this vocalist is always at least as dynamic as anyone else. I will say that the vocal power and intensity matches the music well enough, but I could use a lot more climactic phrase endings and vocal fills. I would characterize the vocals as good on this record, but a bit generic. They in no way add some additional flare to the sound, nor do they hinder the sound.
Overall, the latest Origin record is a huge improvement over any of their previous works. It is a really entertaining listen, and they keep the intensity fresh throughout. There are no stale moments. That is something you don’t find often in modern death metal. For this, I give this album a really good score and say if you are a fan of death metal it is certainly worth your time to give it a listen.
Vocals: 6/10
Guitars: 8/10
Drums: 10/10
Songwriting: 8/10
Production: 10/10
Score: 8/10 – badass

Rotten Sound - Cycles (2008) By Fat Jenk

Band: Rotten Sound
Album: Cycles (2008)
The genre of grindcore has recently come into the sights of the corporate music system that has, in less than a decade, transformed hardcore, heavy metal, death metal, and most recently thrash metal into a commodity packaged for mainstream American shopping malls. Given the fact that grindcore has always been the antithesis of fashion, it is ironic that the new mainstream fashion is to adopt the motto "fuck mainstream fashion!!!" As a longtime fan of grindcore, I would really hate to see the genre fall victim to the same trendy hijacking that hardcore and metal have been ruined by. Luckily, bands like Rotten Sound do a great job polishing the lines between grindcore and nu-grindcore that mainstream America are trying to blur.
Cycles is the kind of album that is so awesome, it is totally immersive. By this I mean you can zone out in a world of insanity by throwing this album on your headphones, or you can daydream about ramming traffic off the road by throwing this in your car on the way to work. The entertainment of this album is kept fresh throughout it’s 33 minutes, and it is definitely of the same quality we have come to expect from Rotten Sound due to their masterful previous albums. The song structures are almost impossible to describe. This shit is light years beyond your average grindcore band. They are literally all over the place. Think what a Nascar race would look like if the drivers had to do 3 point turns in the middle of every straight-a-way, and that’s what the song structure is like. That to me is completely awesome and fun.
The guitars on this album are textbook no-frills grindcore rythems. You won’t hear any long wanky solos, cock rock stylized tricks, nor will you hear any tone and effect changes to add some sort of false sense of depth or progressive influence. They guitars are straight forward power chord grooves and shredding. This might not sound entertaining, but that is where the technique of constant and insane changes come in. Each riff is totally cool and badass sounding, with either an intense and violent flavor or sometimes even a voiced and almost spoken groove. There are a shitload of different kick ass riffs packed into each song. Many dramatic time stops and tempo changes bring out a really sick mosh feel to the songs. There are subtle and punchy two part transitions between phrases to add intensity, as well as a new technique this band has not used very often in the past which is to layer 2 similar guitar parts over one another for a sort of quick bridge in the middle of a phrase. Hell they even have a few quick guitar solos, and they are done pretty well. They also have increased the usage of feedback swells at the beginning of songs, which I am a fan of. Overall, this band has taken their completely badass guitar style and improved upon it.
The drummer for Rotten Sound is a goddamn barbarian. Fantastic blast beats, 1-2 upbeat blasts, perfectly timed and executed double bass rolls in an occasional and limited manner, monster tom rolls and fills, incredible consistency, and an overall flare that is to be commended. This is the kind of drummer that could take a really shitty band and make them sound badass. This album shows him doing more of same from previous albums, which is a very good thing. I can’t really put my finger on any particular improvement from previous efforts, but there is no question that without this guy’s dynamic ability, the other parts of the band would not have been improved like they were this time around.
There is a stigma in nu-grindcore in which people think the vocals are supposed to be "guttural" or "low growls". Thank you, Rotten Sound, for taking a giant masculine shit all over this concept. The vocals on this album are as intense and pissed off as anything I have ever heard. Really fast diction makes the lyrics decipherable and clear, but up to tempo with the music. The tamber of the vocals is primarily a mid-range scream and is fucking cool sounding. Previous efforts have shown Rotten Sound dabbling in different tambers, including ultra low growls and really high screams. This time, they are straight up mid-ranged and I can only imagine this decision was to distance themselves from the new school trendy pussies. A+ for making that decision!!! Rotten Sound now officially have a totally different vocal sound than any other band, and that is what I am looking for.
This is a grindcore album that everyone should own a copy of. Don’t download it, give Rotten Sound your money. We all need to support bands like this, and purposefully NOT support any new trendy fuckheads who are trying to hijack Rotten Sound’s genre and turn it into something. Grindcore is ROTTEN SOUND’s genre. Rotten Sound are the presidents, the kings, the dictators, and the tyrants of grindcore. The farther away from their sound you get, the farther away from grindcore you are. Keep that in mind when you are trying to put together some gay hybrid of progressive jazz fusion and grindcore to put on MySpace.
Vocals: 8/10
Guitars: 9/10
Drums: 10/10
Songwriting: 10/10
Production: 10/10
Score: 9/10 - totally badass