Anasarca
Dying
6.2
Ahh yes, Anasarca, that German death metal band. I remember them. I used to listen to their first album Godmachine quite a bit in my earlier days, so I was looking forward to reviewing this.
I'm going to cut to the chase here folks. If you've heard Anasarca and loved them, don't bother reading any further. Just go buy the album. Now I'll admit, I can't remember the first album all that well, but from what I can tell, this is an extremely consistent group. Pretty amazing to make three decent albums that all basically sound the same, especially when there's only one original member of the band left, and then a drummer. Yep, this album is the product of two people, and it doesn't show in the least.
Anasarca play fast-paced death metal, yes death metal. Regular old kinda-grinding death metal. I suppose I'd call it closer to a U.S. style of death metal. Yepppppp, it's sure death metal, but with hammer-ons and quite a few of them. And hey, they're good hammer-ons, used well when coupled with this sort of whirlwind riffing. I'm thinking the closest comparison I could make is maybe to Angelcorpse, only there's death metal vocals, but some parts (those hammer ons!) are a bit more reminiscent of Cannibal Corpse. Yeppppppp, it's death metal; well produced and everything. There are good levels all around.
There's a lot of shit on here that really shines and you'll find yourself reaching for the volume knob every so often, but sadly enough, the urge to turn it up louder just isn't really there. I was listening to this album in my car, stuck in the middle of traffic, and I didn't raise my fist to start beating the shit out of my steering column even once. Not because there wasn't some fucker with a comb-over cutting me off in his Mercedes, but because Dying just wasn't inspiring me to get out of my car to beat the fucker's head in.
So you know how this album is death metal? Yeah, it is. I wasn't lying to you before. Unfortunately, that's all I can think of when I listen to this album. "Yep. Death metal. Hmmm.....hm. It sure is." I'm entirely indifferent when it comes to this album on the whole, and that's why I'm really unable to write much about it. It's not bad at all, it's kind of good even. It just doesn't stand out.
But criticism aside, there's a fair amount of quality death metal on Dying. You can tell they really want to fuck you up for drinking their beer or something, it's damned aggressive. This aggressive intimidation tactic doesn't pan out though in the end. It's a bit like being startled by a large angry dog on a leash; eventually you get bored and walk away. It's certainly not something to shun, but at the same time, it's not something to actively seek out unless you were a real die-hard fan of Anasarca's older material. It's definitely good for what it is (especially when you consider there's only two people in the band) - it just all begins to run together a bit too quickly. They just sort of plod along with the same general sound, never kicking my teeth in, but at the same time, never trying to shit in my ears.
I don't have a bone to pick with Anasarca, I just don't have a bone to share. Yes, I'm entirely aware of the sexual undertone of that statement - and I meant it that way. My advice to you the reader, is to go to their website at listen to the samples and decide for yourself. You may find you love it. I can understand the appeal. For me though? I need something with a little more diversity.
