Brutal from beginning to end (the cover art, which depicts a human fetus being dismembered by some sort of demonic evil twin, pretty much indicates which kind of music the listener is in for), I Chaos' debut full-length The Human Repellent is a slab of solid, high quality misanthropic death metal.
True to the genre of brutal death metal, the album is full of blastbeats, growls and sheer intensity, but what I like the most about this release is that the compositions are generally riff-driven, and the main source of brutality lies in the crushing riffage (a lot of which is actually very thrashy). The song structures are fairly complex with lots of changes, and the level of technicality is high – but not too technical for everyone to follow. There is a lot of things going on in every single tune on the album, as the listener is taken from blastbeats to heavy sections to thrashy passages and back and forth and exposed to riffs galore in the process, and that is another factor in making this a death metal album that is not likely to become boring to listen to. I must say that I also enjoy the guitar solos immensely, many of which have an almost experimental and jazzy feel to them.
Production-wise, the overall sound is well-defined and professional without being too polished. This ensures that the guitars sound brutal without being so raw and dirty that you cannot hear all the details, which is great considering the level of technicality found on this album. The bass is also quite prominent in the mix, which I appreciate, and the overall mix is actually very nicely balanced. The vocals are harsh and growled, which is obviously a typical feature of the genre, and – fortunately for me – the number of pig squeals is kept at absolutely minimal (I hate pig squeals, you see).
The Human Repellent is a very strong brutal death metal release, which is driven by crushing riffs galore and a general high level of musicianship across the board – recommended to fans of technical brutal metal along the lines of Suffocation and Benighted.
Track Listing:
1. Scattered Remnant
2. The Admonishment
3. Down Comes the Framework
4. Revulsive Butchery
5. Sons of Slaves
6. Imprisonment
7. Chaos Revolts
8. Degeneration Sublime
9. Sworn to Repel
10. Mass for the Blind
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