The influence of the mighty CANNIBAL CORPSE reaches far throughout the world of Extreme Metal. "The Murderous Inception," the debut album by Australia's GAPED, is a prime example, packed with chaotic, groove-based riffs but with just enough melodicism to balance out the songs' overall brutality.

The lyrics are well written, even though the content is pretty one-dimensional, focusing on various acts of murder/dismemberment and the like. The actual music of "Let The Cutting Begin", full of aggressive, palm-muted riffs, is preceded by an unsettling spoken word intro that isn't for the faint of heart. Ryan Huthnance gives an outstanding performance, playing every instrument expertly while supplying some downright nasty (yet intelligible) death growls to the proceedings. He also displays a keen sense of songwriting, staying true to his influences while never sounding repetitive or boring.

The guitar playing is deceptively melodic for such a brutal record, such as on the crushing "Succumb". Other highlights include the grinding "Whites of Your Eyes", as well as "Realm of Impurity", though each of the album's six tracks are well worth hearing. The real treat here is the band's spot-on cover of CANNIBAL CORPSE's classic "Stripped, Raped and Strangled". A fitting pick for a closing track, I had high expectations for this one; in addition to requiring precise playing at both slow and fast speeds, its also my favorite CC song from my favorite CC album (objectivity be damned). Huthnance, though, doesn't disappoint; the down-tuned guitars give this version an even more evil vibe than the original (if that were even possible), and he absolutely nails the vocal parts.

"The Murderous Inception", despite the small sample size, is a strong offering of well-executed, catchy, brutal Death Metal. I would recommend it highly to fans of the genre, and especially to fans of brutal bands such as ABORTED, CANNIBAL CORPSE and DYING FETUS.