Artist: Insision
Label: Earache Records
Release Date: 8/10/04
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Title: Revealed and Worshipped Artist: Insision Label: Earache Records Release Date: 8/10/04 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Abyss's Review:
The Swedish death metal act that thinks they're from Florida have returned with a vengeance. With an album title far less cringe-inducing than their last platter, Beneath The Folds Of Flesh, this band's new album shows the band maturing and utilizing their potential. Revealed And Worshipped is a brutal slab of American-styled death metal that hits like a ten ton hammer.
"One word review: Caustic." The band maintains a great balance between technicality and brutality, fixing the problems with their last album, but continuing its tradition of quality. First off, the production is much better and much more consistent this time around, as Nasum's Mieszko Talarczyk has given the band a great, thick sound. The music is, for the most part, fast and frantic, using a barrage of blastbeats and rapid picking, but all the time not losing any of the heft from the music. Now that the record is done and a success, Mr. Talarczyk can get back to other pressing matters, like more Nasum material and learning a better appreciation for the use of vowels.
While detractors might whine that this brand of brutal death has been done before, I'm still finding it a fresh change of pace. Fact is, there is very little stuff coming out that is this technical and caustic at the same time. Most of the bands of this ilk have stagnated or progressed into different areas, leaving very few bands that remain effective in songwriting without giving in to melody or simplistic groove.
This band has a love for death metal that comes shining through, and this is a must have for anyone into the brutal scene. Even those who are a little spent on the genre might find themselves a little re-energized by the barbarous rhythms within. But be forewarned, this - like its predecessor - is a brief album, clocking in at barely a half an hour, despite some significant voiceovers and mood music. One word review: Caustic.
Death's Review:
Insision play speedy groovy death metal with a touch of deadly grind. You’ve heard it before, but if you like this kind of stuff then I’m confident you’ll be down with this album too. The only major complaint I have is with the production, which obscures some of the album’s heavier riffs and prevents them from truly leveling the listener the way experienced ears know they should. While the riffs are there, the overall “feel” sometimes isn’t. I’ve no doubt that Insision will destroy all if given the opportunity to work their craft in the live setting. And despite my complaints with the production, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time listening to this record and will continue to do so. Far from essential, but still a lot of fun, Revealed and Worshipped is worth your time but if you need to pass on this one, for monetary reasons or otherwise, you shouldn’t sweat it – you won’t be missing out on all that much.
"I’ve no doubt that Insision will destroy all if given the opportunity to work their craft in the live setting."
Hel's Review:
I have to admit I have had a really difficult time with this album. I really enjoyed Insision’s last effort, Beneath the Folds of Flesh and was quite excited to see this one show up. While all of the elements I enjoyed from the previous record are still intact, I found the fuzzy production on this album was spoiling my buzz. So the question becomes, how much am I going to let it bother me?
"Under all the fuzz, Revealed and Worshipped is an outstanding record." My attempt at solving my quandary was to put it away for a bit and then come back to it. I did this a few times and listened to it on a couple of different systems. The end result continued to be the same: a great album buried under what sounds to me like poor production. My recent comments about growing more tolerant of bad production were inevitably going to come back and bite me in the ass, but I didn’t really expect it to happen this soon.
Sure, I know there will always be those who believe that shoddy production values are more underground, or more artistic, or whatever, but my stance on this remains the same: bullshit – poor production just sucks, and obscures the inherent quality of the music. I believe this is what has happened here. Under all the fuzz, Revealed and Worshipped is an outstanding record. I just wish I could fully hear the brilliance I know is there.
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