By: Conor O’Dea
Album Type: Full Length
Date
Released: 24/02/2017
Label: Season of Mist
Benighted are the equivalent of a
gargantuan, hyperactive monstrosity, hybridizing the manic-spastic energy of a
joyous slasher rampage with the gurgling insanity of some cthonic
abomination.
“Necrobreed”
CD//DD//LP track listing:
1.Hush Little Baby
2.Reptilian
3.Psychosilencer
4.Forgive Me Father
5.Leatherface
6.Der Doppelgaenger
7.Necrobreed
8.Monsters Make Monsters
9.Cum With Disgust
10.Versipellis
11.Reeks Of Darkened Zoopsia
12.Mass Grave
The Review:
It's
taking me a while to put this review to bed. This is because Benighted,
particularly with this bloody album, are the equivalent of a gargantuan,
hyperactive monstrosity, hybridizing the manic-spastic energy of a joyous
slasher rampage with the gurgling insanity of some cthonic abomination. This is
my turgid, long-winded way of saying that it is nearly impossible to sit still
long enough to write a review about this album while listening to this album.
I
will confess: as a long-time devotee of Osmose Productions, I was mildly nervous when Benighted
made the jump to Season of Mist. Now on their third album on SoM,
it actually feels like a pretty good fit despite some reservations I have about
the wider roster. Everything about “Necrobreed” feels over-the-top in
the best way possible; the pure adrenaline exuded by every track lets it
outpace “Carnivore Sublime” in every relevant category. In the FFOs
mode, I found in this album whatever intangible element seemed to be missing in
Anaal
Nathrakh's otherwise excellent “Whole of the Law...” it just comes
together slightly better and has the feeling of a cliffhanger at almost every
juncture, complete with jump scares and moments of sheer terror. If pushed to
identify highlights, I would nominate the aggro-fest of “Psychosilencer” and the
terrifyingly crusty title track. “Mass Grave” also makes for an
exceptional album closer.
Energetic,
fun, shrieking, guttural, pulverising, perversely ecstatic. Proof that deathgrind
still has a sense of levity and enjoyment in the music it produces. Apologies
to the band that it took so long to get this out - but it is a compliment,
ultimately...I was too busy enjoying your music and the ensuing tachycardia to
write about it.
