Waking The Cadaver. Most metalheads detest this band, and with good reason. Their first demo and album were a sloppy mess of breakdowns, pig squeals and out of time drumming. It seems in the 3 years between the terrible "Perverse Recollections of a Necromangler", Waking The Cadaver realised how bad they sucked and decided to make amends and become a legit brutal death metal band. And what an improvement they made. [1]
Starting with "Beyond Cops" the assault begins and immediately the listener can hear the improvements that have been made. The production is better, the vocals have changed, the guitars seem more focused, and the drummer has improved hugely. The production here as stated above is much better. Their debut album had a muddy overall sound with poor mixing (the vocals and drums being the main problems). The vocalist here has dropped most of the "Bree Bree SHREDDED WHEAT"-style inhales for a low guttural grunt sounding like a mixture of Travis Ryan and John Gallagher's grunts combined. However, the vocal style from the first album has not completely disappeared as the "wet" sounding inhales and pig squeals are still used in moderation. This is definite improvement as the vocal patterns used are more defined and powerful, in my opinion. [2]
Long gone are Don Campan's irritating pig grunts and those "gutturals" that sounded like he was slurping a cappucino, in favor of a real growl that reminds the listener of John Gallagher of Dying Fetus. Yes, that's right. He now sounds like a legit growler, and is no longer a joke amongst extreme vocalists. He still sounds like he's trying a little too hard to be a tough guy, but it's still better than his old vocal styles. Very occassionally he will perform a higher pitched grunt that sounds suspiciously like a pig squeal, but it actually sounds decent as opposed to the irritated BREE BREE SHREDDED WHEAT he was doing before, and they're used very rarely, so it shouldn't bother you if you don't mind pig squeals used in moderation. [1]
The guitarists have actually attempted to write non-breakdown-based songs on this album. The previous album would be just endless breakdowns , one leading into another (I do, however, love Cephalotripsy's similar style of songwriting). This approach seems to have been forgotten completely. Most of the guitar work here changes between fast tremolo and mid-tempo riffs, however the breakdowns ("slams", if you will) are still here, but there are riffs leading up to them and after them. This makes the "slams" more effective overall because the listener is actually treated to a build up to these sections. [2]
The riffs are solid, heavy and will make you wanna bang your head. Yeah, that's right. RIFFS! On a Waking The Cadaver album. Not a repetitive breakdown lasting an entire song. Actual death metal riffs that show some old school death metal influence such as Morbid Angel, with a few breakdowns or "slams", if you prefer, that remind you more of Dying Fetus than Chased Through The Woods By A Rapist. The guitarist even tries his hand at a solo in "Suffering Upon Revenge". While not the best of solos you can at least give credit for trying to include one. [1]
Overall, this is a nice little slam/brutal death metal/deathcore album that you'll enjoy if you're a fan of Dying Fetus and/or Despised Icon. Well done, Waking The Cadaver. You've definitely changed for the better. If this band continue to improve like they are doing, I see myself becoming a potential huge fan. I'm already looking forward to their next album. [1]
Tracks
- Beyond Cops
- Reign Supreme
- Sadistic Tortures
- Made In Hell
- Boss Status
- Terminate With Extreme Prejudice
- Suffering Upon Revenge
- Waking The Cadaver
- Beyond God
If you like it, please buy it on their official website/merchandise.
Waking The Cadaver - Beyond Cops. Beyond God. (2010)
This review published by DomDomMCMG [1] and 1234SLAYER1234 [2] on Metallum
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