One of New York's finest Brutal Death Metal acts, DEHUMANIZED, have come back after 4 years of silence with a brand new record entitled "Beyond The Mind". Being formed back in 1995, they released their debut demo "Terminal Punishment" just a year after that, and their crushing, raw, brutal, old school Death Metal-oriented debut full-length studio record in 1998; giving it the name "Prophecies Foretold".

We all know that album, at least, the ones that like this genre, or this band. So, now that the band has returned after 4 years since their last record "Controlled Elite" (which took the band 14 years to release), what are the expectations? Be honest with yourselves guys, do you expect something new, refreshing, perhaps modern? Well, it depends on what your view is. The new record hasn't changed much in terms of their sound, but that's good, from my point of view at least. They have improved just a bit on their sound and they still mix their old school crushing riffs with today's modern Brutal Death Metal and Slam riffs. It's a perfect combination of raw and groovy brutality. So basically, yes, you should give this album a blast!

Some bands take a while before they start playing on the first track, well, DEHUMANIZED are not one of those bands. The album's first track "Worthless Prosperity" might be familiar to some, since it was the first track to get released by the band's label Comatose Music as a promo. The track starts off with a SHORT intro! A short intro that basically gets stomped on by the brutal, skull smashing riffs. They are a bit chug-oriented, old, modern (new), slow, sometimes fast, and the vocals are also a bit modern, and sometimes old school influenced. The track showcases what you can expect on the record, but we're far from the end.

"P.C.C.R", the 2^nd track, instantly reminds me of some of the masters of this genre (except for the band in question of course), such as SUFFOCATION, MALIGNANCY, PYREXIA and many more. It literally sounds like it has Frank Mullen on vocals, which showcases the respect and the bond between all these classic Technical/Brutal Death Metal bands based out of NY. The track features some nasty blast-beat drumming, fast riffs - whilst some of them are actually slower, more chug-chug oriented when the overall atmosphere slows down from time to time. The breakdowns are sick, and when it comes to the breakdowns, don't think that they make the music feel "weak" - for bands like these were their original inventors and only later did Slam and Deathcore bands start using them.

"Beyond The Mind" starts off with a slow, really slow intro riff, before this get progressively faster as the drumming enters the game, along with the vocals, lastly, but not least importantly. To be more precise, in the beginning you can hear a short scream, and later another a bit more inaudible one.  I forgot to mention that except for the band's professionalism, you can also expect some sick guest vocals too! The second track features Eston Browne, vocalist of Chicago, Illinois based technical/progressive Death Metal act, GIGAN! Then the fourth track, named "Black Market 2099", starts with someone repeatedly saying ''open your mind!'', and then the drumming, riffing, and the vocals kick in! Best part? Danny Nelson, one of the last original members of MALIGNANCY is on guest vocals! Now that's a sick combination, if you ask me. The overall vocals on this track are incredible; I lost track of who's who, because they are various and the mix of those 2 legendary vocalists is one hell of a thing, right?

"Abyss Ambassador" starts off right where the previous track left off. There is no guest this time and the band picks up the overall atmosphere from the previous tracks whilst still remaining original and creative with the sound experimentation. "One North" starts with another intro of someone talking about walls; it's up to you to find out where the intro is from. Now, focusing on the music side, this track is a bit different from the previous ones, for the vocals are bit weirder - they are slightly more modern, a bit more bizarre and very much unlike the rest, which sounded completely like bands from the 90's. One reason why I adore this band is how they sometimes start their songs slowly, but then you have tracks such as "The First Immortal" - which is the type of track that will make you feel like you just got kicked straight into your face! It's a massive and destructive track full of anger, force and brutality. There are various growls, screams, and other type of vocals in the mix. Also, this might be a bit late, but holy shit, if the music doesn't impress you, that cover art must do! For the curious ones: it was done by Tony Koehl.

Off to the 8^th track, "Last Words", and this one starts off with a deep, sludgy, greasy bass tone and some slower, slightly more silent vocals; you can clearly see the highlight on this track was put on the other instruments. You can hear the drums, the riffs, and almost everything a bit more loudly than on the previous songs. Now, "Drawn By Blood'' is an indeed interesting track. First off, it contains John Collet on vocals - from the infamous band SUCCESS WILL WRITE APOCALYPSE ACROSS THE SKY (awesome band name, right?). This band might not be known to some, but they are an awesome and pretty brutal Death Metal band, and thus far they have released only their debut record, which also has the great name: ''The Grand Partition And The Abrogation Of Idolatry''. In general, this track is brutal, what else should I say? If you still don't believe me after a 1000 words in this review, you should reconsider your listening skills.

Okay, last track! "Telepathics"! I think this song is a mix of everything you had the privilege of hearing so far. It's nasty, it's brutal, and most importantly, it proves how great this band still is after almost 2 decades of ass-kicking!

If you like DYING FETUS, INTERNAL BLEEDING, SKINLESS, and still haven't given this record a detailed listen, shame on you! BLAST DEHUMANIZED now for an incredible experience. You're truly going to enjoy it if you like Brutal Death Metal, especially from New York.