Artist: Yattering
Label: Candlelight Records
Release Date: 3/25/03
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Title: Genocide Artist: Yattering Label: Candlelight Records Release Date: 3/25/03 |
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Abyss's Review:
Or as Seinfeld would call it, Yatta-Yatta-Yattering. It's very easy to blow this album off as just another brutal death metal band. It wasn't until my fifth or sixth spin of this album that it started to show any amount of personality to me. I originally thought this band was an adequate, but unexciting, band playing American style death metal, but really doing nothing to set itself apart from the pack. In time, however, I found that Genocide is far from the cookie cutter Cookie Monster metal that's been around for years.
"This album's greatest assets seem to bring attention to its greatest shortcomings." That doesn't quite save this album for me, unfortunately. You see, this album's greatest assets seem to bring attention to its greatest shortcomings. One of the most interesting aspects to this band is their rhythm section. As one gets acquainted with the material, the stop/start atypical percussion makes this band an interesting case study in brutality. It isn't as overt as in other, more eclectic acts like Meshuggah and Dillinger Escape Plan, but that works in its favor. As impressive as the drumming is, it doesn't ever impede the flow of the song, so the listener doesn't get frustrated. Another noteworthy part to this band is the technical ability displayed in the lead guitar parts, which combined with the percussion should put this band high on the must have list for anyone interested in technical death metal.
Where the band loses me, however, is that quickly after I realized how interesting the drum work was, I realized how poor the drum sound was. In what strikes me as a poor production decision, the drums strike me as not nearly thick enough for the rhythm guitar section. They have that echo-y tinker toy sound that was the bane of many an early 90s death metal act, and it really detracts from my enjoyment of this record. Equally unfulfilling are the guitar leads, which, as I stated before, are impressive from a technical standpoint, but seem to be awkwardly laid over their respective songs rather than composed to complement them. The leads ignore all of the boundaries of the composition itself, and just sound like the guitarist is playing as fast as he can for a few minutes until the main riff kicks in.
"I can really see this band taking the death metal scene by storm, I just don't think they've lived up to their potential." I can really see this band taking the death metal scene by storm, I just don't think they've lived up to their potential. I will recommend this album to the brutal death metal fanatic, as it has a great deal of interesting stuff going on. Unfortunately, I think the less genre-specific metalhead might find this album a bit too incomplete. One word review: Flawed.
Death's Review:
Poland's Yattering are back, this time on Candlelight Records, to deliver another genre-stretching platter of technically brutal death/grind. The result? The riffs are pummeling yet interesting. The drums are brutal yet full of jazzy finesse, with a decided "pop" to the snare drum sound and the ring of the rock ride cymbal ever prevalent. The vocals are guttural and never clean. Overall, the band is quite technical but never sacrifices extremity or brutality for the sake of the song - bottom line, the album never lets up throughout the entire set.
"The band is quite technical but never sacrifices extremity or brutality for the sake of the song."
Musically, the band has elements of late-era Death mixed with modern brutal grindcore acts like Cephalic Carnage. This release would fit in perfectly with the Relapse Records aesthetic, but apparently the band has moved on. All in all, these guys are really freakin' tight, and although they have been together since 1996 and have been releasing records since 1998, there is something to the sound that still shows improvement with each and every measured step. This band is evolving into a real international death metal powerhouse, and fans of the genre who are thus far unfamiliar with prior efforts really do need to stand up and take note of this forthcoming release. If brutality is your thing, but rather than a splatteringly chaotic mess you crave a well-executed musical pummeling from accomplished musicians who probably could play other forms of music but instead live to crush your skull and rip your flesh from your still-living carcass, then check out Yattering. You'll be psyched that you did.
"This band is evolving into a real international death metal powerhouse."
Hel's Review:
Polish deathmeisters Yattering have returned with a slab of technical brutality that simply will not be ignored. I found myself quickly drawn into their twisted world of time changes and incessantly pummeling riffs. Oooh, aaah - if you like technical death metal with heavy doses of grind, then there's a lot on this album for you to enjoy.
"Oooh, aaah - if you like technical death metal with heavy doses of grind, then there's a lot on this album for you to enjoy." The vocals are particularly deep and guttural, and those who find themselves squirming uncomfortably when confronted with unpleasant lyrical topics will by happy to learn that even the most experienced death metal listener will have difficulty discerning the actual words, and therefore may listen in blissful ignorance.
"This is top notch shit." The production on this record is far better than I would have expected, and when played on a nice sound system, every amazingly complicated note comes through, enabling you to marvel at the skill these musicians display. Sure, I admit, I'm a sucker for death metal, and grindcore as well, but believe me when I tell you that this record is definitely one worth checking out. This is top notch shit.
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