Product categories: Death MetalCD
Producer: Deathgasm
5 track MCD of unpolished underground death metal brought to you by current/former members of IMMOLATION, GOREAPHOBIA, CRUCIFIER and RELLIK. Also features of bizarre contribution from Clive Jones of legendary 70's occult rock band BLACK WIDOW!
Metal Archives [85%]:
Masada's "Hideous Rot" mCD will be one of those love it or hate it releases. Personally, I love it… er… for the most part at least.The disc contains 3 new tracks as well as the 2 "Suffer Mental Decay" demo tracks from 2011, all delivered by an all-star lineup. Yeah, it's no secret that this band features members who were involved with Immolation, Goreaphobia, and Crucifier, but what's interesting is that the music is actually quite different. Granted, the 15 minutes or so of material presented here is not a lot of meat to chew, but it's enough to get an idea of what they're going for."Hideous Rot" is semi-technical, semi-prog death metal (ie. it's not the typical blast beat death metal of today) filled with memorable riffs, weird harmonies, and a genuine old school feel. The tunes range from slow to fast but they generally hover in that perfect mid-paced zone -- chugging along. The vocals are the standard death metal growl, but there is some layered weirdness thrown in for good measure, adding the whole vibe of things. On a whole, imagine Death meets Gorguts meets Pestilence meets Morgoth and you have Masada. That's 4 out of the 5 tracks. The oddball on this release is by far the instrumental flute track, "Fluteotherapy," delivered by the legendary Clive Jones from Black Widow. Yeah, the "Come to the Sabbat" Black Widow! Yeah, it's weird, it's out of place, and it's not death metal… but you know what, I actually love it! Unfortunately, I think I'm in the minority as many of metalheads out there probably won't, but to each his own I guess.Now for the drawbacks… most notably on this one, it's the recording quality. These songs were clearly recorded in a rehearsal room which gives the whole thing a hollow, muddy sound. Don't get me wrong, I love me some dirty underground death metal, but with this type of material, it just doesn't work well. It's unfortunate. I think with the proper recording, this release could be high on everyone's list. But you know what? Despite the recording quality, I can still listen to the actual music… and I want more!