Well, finally another slab of meat has landed in my hands. As advertised in the price list -- NEW ALBUM BRUTALLLLLLLLL. It's been a while since we've heard anything from these Swedish butchers. I trust nobody needs an introduction to this well-known Scandinavian outfit.
Back in its day, Plainfield Cemetery left many pleasant impressions and a massive hole in the head. Naturally, I'd been eagerly awaiting the new album.
To paraphrase a well-known saying... you judge by the cover. And the cover here is, as expected, brutal.
Excellent artwork -- chunks of clotted blood and brains -- a good start to the day.
I'll be honest: I expected a lot from this album, and then some. Perhaps that's precisely why my expectations weren't met. No, there's no denying it -- it's a good, in some ways exemplary, record for DERANGED. As always, there are the recognizable machine-gun bursts from workhorse Rikard Wermen, excellent brutal inhuman growling -- though in fairness, it must be said it's rather monotonous (but still very satisfying). Decent chopping and shredding riffs with piercing, slashing solos. As always, everything is at maximum speed and maximum heaviness -- in this aspect the band has never shown weakness.
But despite all the same ingredients, the band isn't standing still; they even experiment in places, and what we get is DERANGED 2006 -- whether we like it or not.
P.S.
Compared to Plainfield Cemetery, Obscenities In B-Flat may seem less cohesive -- there are some less successful compositions. One might assume this was influenced by lineup changes, as by the time of recording, the bassist/vocalist only tracked vocal parts, and not even all of them. He left the band immediately after the recording. And this kind of lineup instability has never done anyone any good. Currently, as far as I know, DERANGED are fully staffed and writing a new album. Meanwhile, we'll keep gnawing on this piece of meat. Bon appetit to all.