I love extreme Metal bands that stand tall to their saying, let it be Brutal, Gore, Black, Dark, Grind or whatever other misanthropic emotion a human being can carry out. More, if you have the skills required to fill in the position and enough guts to make the mainstream disbelievers accept your quality (e.g. call me Cannibal Corpse), then does it really matter how old you are or in what outfit you pay your bills?
The final album for the Karmageddon Media label (formerly known as Hammerheart Records) is NOT the new Severe Torture full-length but a live album with bonus material including our '98 demo, the band clearly states. The Dutch bloody deathsters, these days full in recording for their upcoming studio release, have already an 8-year career on their backs with a bunch of remarkable releases for the Brutal Death Metal genre. In a style similar to the Cannibal Corpse pioneers (both musically and lyrically), the Torturers are really capable of delivering endless doses of breathnecking brutality - the Feasting on Blood (2000) and Misanthropic Carnage (2002) albums can easily prove so - but I always wanted something more in the compositions area. Still, this is not a new Severe Torture album to review, so roll on!
Part I, tracks 1- 9: Recorded at Voxhall in Aarhus, Denmark during May 2004, the gore quintet plays like ready for a pure holocaust! The songs are almost equally divided between the two abovementioned releases, all the players are nearlly perfect and Dennis' growls speak for themselves, as usual. The production is solid whereas no live feeling» can easily be distinguished as the crowd can hardly be heard even in between the songs (I could easily guide my mind to other scenarios...).
Part II, track 10: The cover version of the Dutch masters of Thrash/Death Metal opus Lost Souls - originally featured in the Testimony Of The Ancients (1991) monumental album - results in the impression that this band can do well in lower tempos as well. A really good cover.
Part III, tracks 11-15: Maybe the main reason for someone to purchase this release. The 1998 Baptized... demo tape/CD - produced by Vincent Dijkers (Sinister, Houwitser) - shows (for me, at least) how seriously this band works. Nothing more to say.
End of the trilogy: Severe Torture is strictly for the brutal Death Metal fans but surely deserve more recognition in their familiar fields. I consider their upcoming effort to be of critical importance for their fame and I hope they'll have fresh ideas. 'Till then, this release (I wonder if this release was the band's or the label's idea...) can easily be placed as the go-between.