It is going to be rotten, a split image of true decay. I have had my fair share of pungent extreme Metal variations, some of the brutal outskirts of the genre, displaying that there is a sort of artistry within the crypts. Loyal to the then emerging sickness of the early 90s, hails the Aussie Death Metal preachers, CONTAMINATED. Ever since its inception, it slowly evolved. Nonetheless, nothing related to the musical end, but rather to its lineup, from a one man show into a full time unit of Death Metal bound in gore local musicians. And then came the day, when the band released its debut album "Final Man", newly signed to the Swedish underground warmonger, Blood Harvest Records.

If there is one thing that I admire about bands such as CONTAMINATED is their willpower to ignore their surroundings and stick to their guns, doing what they do best, and that is creating down in the pit Death Metal, as filthy as it gets, as putrid that can be found. On the other hand, there is the quality in question. Without a doubt that there was a kind of magic in the early Finnish meets Swedish 90s driven Death Metal, whether in the US or in Europe. Essentially, it was the real thing, the old school stuff. However, "Final Man" didn't leave a mark. Sure it has the filthy sound, thick layered grooves and the trying to be melodic energetic tremolo action, which is one of the genre's signature, yet, I believe that this is far from setting anything ablaze. On most part, the music is repetitive, same motifs over and over, badly produced gurgled vocals, which sounded like a monstrous echo that sometimes had no purpose on being there in the first place.

At any rate, CONTAMINATED, with their strong beliefs in the old days, managed to show that there is something in their music that could go level up one day. The swallowing swamp "Co-opted into Worthless Sludge" was the only song that actually gave a good enough idea that there is hope, at least there is something promising in the gloomy horizon, the band explores the forlorn of Doom into the immense meat grinding of early 90s Death Metal, somewhat a diversity in the band's efforts. The straightforward menace of "Squalid Survival" also showed great playing abilities, though stomped ground with the same shticks time and time again.

Going forward, with mercy, bound by the roots is all swell, but it might stumble into a wall, and bricks hurt, especially when on your head. I think that this Aussie crew can explore the old Death Metal scene further, and they will find that there is more to it. Their new effort doesn't necessarily have to be technical or melodic, just to help them find a certain edge that will be able to bring them more attention, and needless to say a step up in the quality of their outputs.