Since the days when Death Metal fractured into an ample set of subgenres, things improved a lot and every piece evolved to become a new musical universe to be explored. But it’s clear that many bands prefer to stay as classic (or in other words, Old School) as they can. And the North American quartet CONTRITION (from Chicago) is one of these, as heard on “Pariahs”. Chris Lee (on the recordings) and the band’s guitarist Jeff Wilson (on the mixing and mastering) tried to find something that could be said as Old School Death Metal model, and with an organic appeal. It’s clear they did a good work, but it could be better, because some instrumental tunes aren’t as good as they could be (the snare drums’ sound is annoying). It’s good, but it could be better.

The quartet uses a mix of influences between Old School Death Metal (it’s clear the traces of works before the start of the Second Wave of Death Metal in 1989) with a load of Grindcore touches. Obviously that such mix was done many times in the past, and it’s clear that they draw influences from bands as NAPALM DEATH (on “Harmony Corruption” and “Utopia Banished” era), REPULSION, DEFECATION and others in this way, but they know to use some slow parts and sounds brutal, aggressive and full of energy. But their full musical potential isn’t shown now. And Sammy Duet (of ACID BATH and GOATWHORE) plays guitar solos as guest.

“Not Today” (noisy guitars with some extreme blast beats, depicting a solid work on bass guitar and drums), “Incognizant” (a strong track with many slow parts and charming grunts, but some breakdowns can be heard as well) and “Trauma Queen” (a voracious song boosted by sharp guitar riffs and an insane solo) are good songs of a band that seems to be still maturing. But again: if they’re in such a level by now, imagine when things become mature as they must. “Pariahs” is a charming release, and CONTRITION has a lot to offer.