Angry Metal Guy
Belgian one-man death machine Humanity Defiled first caught my attention years ago, with their hefty 2015 death assault The Demise of the Sane. The album predated Headshrinker’s awesome Callous Indifference when it comes to chunky, nasty death metal that tackles dark, deeply personal, and sensitive subjects—especially as it pertains to matters of mental health. However, that Headshrinker record helped filled the void left by Humanity Defiled in the nine years since The Demise of the Sane dropped. Still, I find myself as ravenous as ever for new Humanity Defiled material. The only question left is whether or not follow-up Deficient Breed contains sufficient sustenance to satiate my ferocious appetite!
On the surface, nothing about Humanity Defiled’s sound changed significantly since 2015, and that’s a good thing. Bolt Thrower grooves and Asphyx stomps still heavily inform Deficient Breed’s thirty-five minutes of meaty, depressive death metal. Mastermind Iwein Denayer stays true to his mission of no-frills, no-nonsense metal, with nary a moment left to things outside crushing riffs, thunderous rhythmic heft, and myriad classic songwriting approaches. That adhesion to long-standing formulas runs the risk of leaving Humanity Defiled with no unique voice in the instrumentation department. At the same time, however, Deficient Breed’s dark and hopeless nature helps provide a more distinct character that differentiates this material from the standard fare. A mix of tempos and rhythms ranging from funereal death marches to quick, thrashy stampedes threatens the listener with uneven pacing, but also potentially allows Humanity Defiled to move dynamically between movements. Either way, there’s no denying Iwein understands his references and generally knows how to inject his own personality into what are essentially variations on classic death metal templates.
Proof that what ain’t broken needs no fixing, opening stompers “March of the Euthanized” and “Genocide Stigmata” march Deficient Breed into an alternate universe where Bolt Thrower and Scalpture wrote about societal collapse, mental illness, and the worst aspects of human nature, and it works. These riffs, while somewhat derivative, contain the weight of the world within them, and Humanity Defiled wields them well. A greater presence of hardcore passion, delivered in part via guest vocals by Frank Boone on the first track, further invigorate this opening act. Other album highlights like the fiery “Unyielding Opposition” and the vicious “Empire of One” prove that Iwein can handle serious speed just as deftly as he does his preferred mid-paced trot. These two blistering numbers in particular are especially important in the track order as well, as they break up the doom and gloom of slower, thicker cuts such as “Blackened Mind” and “Trigger Warning.” In other areas, touches of screamo and hardcore punk vocals strengthen tracks like “Blackened Mind” and “The Curse of the Self” (courtesy of Pieter Dewulf and Davy Beeckman plus Angelo Atmani, respectively), contributing something more emotionally charged and compelling than the typical death metal blueprint allows.
Yet, Humanity Defiled doesn’t escape the shadow of their inspirations as stealthily as they did on The Demise of the Sane. While the elemental building blocks of this record’s riffs, solos, and drumming worship the ways of olde just as devoutly as previous output did, more vivacious deviations from that influence—whether that be a discordant flourish here or a unexpected beat transition there—elevated past material further than what’s present on Deficient Breed. “March of the Euthanized,” “The Curse of the Self,” and “Erode and Dissolve,” for example, make for easily headbangable tunes, but as I listen to them I find myself asking where that compelling, singular Humanity Defiled flavor went. Feeling the need to ask that question takes me out of immersion and makes it difficult to commit these songs to memory. Meanwhile, the bloated “Trigger Warning” sounds tired and weary, moving with a lackluster energy that saps a lot of momentum away from the rest of the record. Deficient Breed may be well organized overall, but these drawbacks cause thirty-five minutes of admirably stripped-down death to feel like a difficult fifty minutes, particularly on focused spins.
Ultimately, your mileage may vary with Deficient Breed. I still believe Humanity Defiled have the chops to deliver something greater than cookie-cutter, old school death metal, but Deficient Breed doesn’t always meet that standard. If you aren’t too picky, or if you have a strong preference for this style, Deficient Breed should hit the spot. Otherwise, there’s a chance Deficient Breed might not be sufficient to slake your thirst.
Rating: Mixed.
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Self Released
Websites: facebook.com/humanitydefiled | humanitydefiled.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: May 31st, 2024
The post Humanity Defiled – Deficient Breed Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.
Thu May 30 11:17:06 GMT 2024