Kill By Numbers
We Held Hands And Counted The Dead
4.4
With the exception of maybe Dam, Mithras and Man Must Die, the UK’s newer death metal scene has been pretty stagnant compared to the glory days of Carcass, Bolt Thrower, Benediction, Desecrator and such. And it’s no surprise when bands like Kill By Numbers are releasing sub standard, rudimentary by the numbers death metal like this. That being said, if you enjoy the punishingly simple rumblings of Jungle Rot, you might like this.
With Charles Manson obsession, songs about serial killers, molestation and killing children, Kill By Numbers are a pretty retro act musically and lyrically with no challenging features or captivating moments, above and beyond their plain bottom end lurch. Kill By Numbers would have been a perfect fit for JL America in 1992 as their sound is so creaky and lethargic, which has some nostalgia, but when you simply place them next to today’s death metal elite, Kill By Numbers sounds horribly amateurish.
Kill By Numbers occasionally seem to be going for the psychotic crawl of Autopsy with some tracks “I am Jesus”, “Remove the Unacceptable” and “The Sound Dead Children Make” while the rest comprise of mid paced chuggers “David Berkowitz”, “A Rose for Mary”, “Invocation of the Corrupt”, “Idiotic Cattle”, or noisy, sloppy blast beats “The Priest’s a Sadist”, “Bad Molesting Examples”(?), “Helter Skelter”, “Kill Just for Fun” none of which come across as enjoyable or impressive unless this is the absolute first death metal album you have ever heard in your life. Bog standard deep growls, intentionally primal production, clichéd subject matter and lifeless songwriting make this an utterly forgetful release. Even more so when you consider what forward thinking bands like Origin, Nile and Mithras are doing in the genre. I’m all for nostalgia; I enjoy the likes of Bloodbath, Grave and other throwback bands, but I don’t think Kill By Numbers are trying to be a homage band; they just aren’t very good or ambitious.
I hate to be harsh to my own, this recording does consist of some demo tracks and the band’s website state the new lineup is playing more technical material, so there is some hope for Kill By Numbers, but as it stands, this album is destined for the forgetful abyss of death metal mediocrity.
