Search - Intestine Baalism :: An Anatomy of the Beast

Japanese got it right

Trevor Markiw | Lansing, Michigan United States | 10/29/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Maybe it's my rooted fandom of video games, but I really have an eye and ear for metal out of Japan. So anytime I hear of a death metal band from Japan I instantly take note. The band I take note of today is the insanely technical and gutturally brutal Intestine Baalism. On "An Anatomy of the Beast" this is very primitive death metal. The vocals are deep and guttural for the most part, while the music is a mixed bag of brutal churnings while arranged in a melodic way. What I mean is, for the most part a lot of the arrangements are pretty basic thrashing riffs. And then it will break out into a instant guitar assault. Definitely different in sound than a lot of metal bands I have heard in my day. And to be completely honest it works for them! yes they make it work. It's on a different level then the "brutal" death metal that I primarily prefer. But the melodic guitar solo's they perform. All the while shifting place throughout song to song, and with the added guttural vocals, this is definitely one of the best cups of coffee I've ever tasted. You see that I used coffee as a metaphor to describe the greatness of Intestine Baalism. Good coffee, good coffee indeed. The only downside to the album is the flat production, it's really doesn't have much of a kick regardless of the volume. But since I personally care less about production, this holds no grudge with me. I just bring it up, because primarily in a lot of reviews I hear complaining in that category. Overall excellent disc, and deserves your attention."