GRINDSCENE Records like to release soft, safe, melodic stadium rock....like fuck they do! Brutality, challenging, face-melting metal is what the label has unleashed so far; and latest release: The Obscene Machine - The Obscenity Within is no different.
Delivered by the enigmatic Operative's 1-4 this is an unrelenting 15 minutes of intense death metal; shouted vocals, call-backs, moments of superlative guitar soloing and on the money aggression. It is not for the faint hearted.
Quibbles are that the production seems to have lost the bottom end on some tracks, and that at times the influence of their obvious heroes Cephalic Carnage and Cyrptopsy are a little too close to the surface.
Asides from the obvious death metal core to The Obscene Machine there is also a definite punk-ish feel that more than resonates with the likes of mid-period Crass.
Opening with the in-yer-face Descent, that ninety second assault is a mere warm-up before the blast of Napalm Orchid, which has a massive variety packed into a 1:21 of groove and ferocity.
Stand-out tracks are the (slightly longer) Obscenity Within and Unrelenting, which reveal the ability of the Operatives to take on board styles such as thrash within their full-on death attack.
There really is little to criticise here, apart from the quibbles mentioned previously. The Obscene Machine offer plenty of promise and unremitting commitment to never let the intensity slacken. Their monochromatic vision of 21st Century society is an unrelenting vision of a dysfunctional, dystopian culture where killers are celebrated (closing track 'In the Company of Reformed Cruelty') and where the innocent are victims in a Darwinian world.
Which means we look forward to the next time they are unleashed in the studio.
The Obscenity Within is now available from GrindScene Records
Delivered by the enigmatic Operative's 1-4 this is an unrelenting 15 minutes of intense death metal; shouted vocals, call-backs, moments of superlative guitar soloing and on the money aggression. It is not for the faint hearted.
Quibbles are that the production seems to have lost the bottom end on some tracks, and that at times the influence of their obvious heroes Cephalic Carnage and Cyrptopsy are a little too close to the surface.
Asides from the obvious death metal core to The Obscene Machine there is also a definite punk-ish feel that more than resonates with the likes of mid-period Crass.
Opening with the in-yer-face Descent, that ninety second assault is a mere warm-up before the blast of Napalm Orchid, which has a massive variety packed into a 1:21 of groove and ferocity.Stand-out tracks are the (slightly longer) Obscenity Within and Unrelenting, which reveal the ability of the Operatives to take on board styles such as thrash within their full-on death attack.
There really is little to criticise here, apart from the quibbles mentioned previously. The Obscene Machine offer plenty of promise and unremitting commitment to never let the intensity slacken. Their monochromatic vision of 21st Century society is an unrelenting vision of a dysfunctional, dystopian culture where killers are celebrated (closing track 'In the Company of Reformed Cruelty') and where the innocent are victims in a Darwinian world.
Which means we look forward to the next time they are unleashed in the studio.
The Obscenity Within is now available from GrindScene Records
Authors: Jonny
Read More: http://belfastmetalheadsreunited.blogspot.com/2013/03/operatives-deliver-brutal-obscenity.html