STRAPPADO proudly wear the self-appointed title of "Brutal Torture Death Metal", and believe that says quite a lot about them as an artist. Somehow, their idea of a unique selling point in Brutal Death Metal is lyrics about violence and torture. Here, the blatantly generic, unimaginative and boring are heralded as if they're miraculous, instead of the repetitive sludge they actually are. STRAPPADO do absolutely nothing to separate themselves from the never-ending torrents of mediocre, but functionally fine Death Metal that is totally eviscerating the Metal scene. Almost impossible to truly criticize, as all is technically function, this album serves as a collection of every cliche that Death Metal desperately needs to get over. STRAPPADO aren't the cause of the stagnation of Metal, but they're most certainly a symptom of the greater rot.

Opening with sound clips of characters being tortured, STRAPPADO attempt to create some sense of atmosphere with opening track "The Rack". Unfortunately for the band, the sound clips chosen have some of the worst actors, screaming in the most unconvincing agony. A local theater's amateur dramatics society would even tell these people to give up on acting, so why is this how STRAPPADO have chosen to introduce me to their music? It creates an awful first impression, that it never truly recovers from. All I remember from this record are awful sound clips, and a collection of cliches. "Abbey Of Painful Screams" also caused me to laugh out loud with its awful miss-match in quality of production between generic church bells and the main song. The sheerly monuments difference in audio quality drains any and all impact from the riffing.

Surprisingly, "Twenty Fingers," a track only lasting 21 seconds is a rare glimpse of life. With a brief and frantic burst of aggression that quickly escalates and then concludes before any brutality has lost its impact, or has outstayed its welcome. However, this song possibly only sticks out in my mind, because its length makes it stand out compared to the rest of the cliched monotony on the other 9 tracks. With a very slight Grindcore influence, STRAPPADO seem to have found passion, but it clearly passes almost instantaneously. For a band that seems content regurgitating the same few, average riffs on repeat, this shows an uncharacteristic lack of patience and tolerance.

This review seems incredibly negative, and I'll admit, this is more a reaction to the monochrome sludge the vast majority of local Death Metal has become. The music on display here is fully functional, and I'd happily nod my head along to them in a live capacity, but this record takes the genre absolutely nowhere. If you want zero challenge in anything you listen to, and want to remain in your own safe, private womb of old Death Metal, give these guys a go. For anyone who wants music to move them however, you will not find this here.

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