In Greek Mythology, Cocyte is a river of Hell, tributary of Acheron, fed by the tears of those who are in the hybris as well as those of those who have misbehaved in general. On its shores, souls that have not had burials (lost souls or wanderers) seek their ways to the Underworld. COCYTE, a Melodic Death Metal/Metalcore band, formed in 2009, in Belgium. After three independent EP releases, "The Human Disease" is the band's debut full length album, containing ten tracks. "Ominous" is a nice opener for the album. It has an eerie sound, with piano and some keyboard effects, thunderous drumming, and foreboding guitar riffs. A heavy rhythm fueled by maddening percussion leads off the first track with vocals, "We Are Divided." It's an interesting mix of styles. Death Metal for sure, but not hearing an awful lot of melodic elements, though a brief interlude does pause long enough to let some soak in. The vocals are almost Deathcore in their delivery. "The Oppressed" continues with battering fury. I can't imagine how many cups of coffee drummer Facella must have had to keep up this herculean pace. The guitars jab and cut here and there, with plenty of shifting and frenzied lead breaks with squeals. The technical elements of the music are noteworthy, that is for sure.

"Malevolent Urge" flirt with some Djent type rhythms...heavy chord strikes that rattle deeply under the canvas of the anguished vocals. There are some legato guitar passages here and there but they don't carry a lot of weight in the overall sound. "Mechincal Refuge" ups the madness even more, with a quicker pace and more brutal chaos then I thought possible from earlier tracks. Again I feel the Tech and Deathcore elements are strongest here. But many bands do not care for genre labeling anyway so it's probably a useless point. "Shadows and Illusions" features dissonant guitars, chugging percussion and vocal screams that could be heard for miles in a windstorm. The title track burns fast and deep. Sometimes the guitar riff follows a melody line but most of the time it just reigns fists down on you with discord until you submit.

The brief and soft instrumental "The Last Requiem" closed the album. How do you like your Death Metal? If you like it unrestrained, brutal and candid, you will enjoy COCYTE's "The Human Disease." For me, the technical elements, dissonance and Deathcore vocal approach seemed to be the constant on the album. I would not call this Melodic Death Metal or Metalcore however. But, again, genre labeling is not for some. It's a promising effort for their first debut full-length, and if they can embrace some more diversity while not taking away from their core, I would look forward to hearing more in the future.