Review of Stillborn - Manifiesto De Blasfemia

For the past couple years death metal has grown on me considerably, and during that time it’s become a habit to listen a little more attentively when people bring up death and black metal bands and all the hybrids thereof that surface from Poland. As far as I’m concerned, from the more familiar metal outfits like Behemoth, Yattering, Vader, Azarath, Vesania, and Decapitated down to the most filthy isolationist acts you can find, Poland has been issuing some seriously hellish, notable metal for a while now, and I really don’t know why there isn’t more of a media buzz concerning what’s been going on there.

This brings me to Stillborn, a band that conjures up a few strong feelings not so much due to the originality displayed (there isn’t much of it), or the sheer force of the material (oh yeah, plenty of that though), but more because of the songwriting shown here on Manifiesto De Blasfemia can really pull you in at times. Two quick and loose style comparisons to bands similar to Stillborn could be early Angelcorpse, and Belphegor, as the music is quite sharp, swarming with cutting tremolo riffs, often performed at blitzkrieg speed accompanied by rasped, snarled vocals. However, this mass collection of riffs has a purpose, as many jangling, contrasting discordant power chords and sudden stops appear at unexpected times to keep things interesting, yet I can hear so much Angelcorpse in the title track it makes me laugh a little bit. It’s all very, very well written, but the familiarity that rushes in is virtually immediate, and sometimes all encompassing.

I suppose that’s the only real problem I have with Manifiesto…, the glaring lack of originality despite the murderous levels of technical proficiency, balls-out savagery, and killer tones. They’re like the medium-rare version of all the major Polish black/death metal bands you can think of rolled into one group, which, for some reason, doesn’t translate into something I can praise as something extraordinary in this instance. Make no mistake though, there isn’t a single lame moment to be heard on this disc, especially when tracks like “Natural Born Destroyers”, and “Pest: Ravager of Humanity” mix things up with short groove sections during the intense cacophony that can probably stir up some decent headbanging, while cuts like “Die Fuckers”, and “Angel Ripper” are just merciless assaults of manic speed barely held in check by incredible drumming, and commanding vocals. It’s one heavy duty war machine of an album, without a doubt.

Manifiesto… definitely has its fine moments, and enforces my belief that Poland has been kicking everyone else’s ass for quite a while now when it comes to bands of this nature. But honestly, this is one of those albums that you won’t regret picking up if you’re into the bands I mentioned above, because it’s a textured, uncompromising listen, and likewise there’s nothing here that will make you a fan of the scene unless you’re already heading in that direction on your own. Stillborn grew on me, which was very cool considering how many bands go for the instant fix these days. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear something truly crushing on a level of Diabolic Impious Evil someday from these guys if they can really bring forth something that sounds much less derivative than what's shown here. Worthwhile.

Release Details

Stillborn

Manifiesto De Blasfemia

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