Savage Annihilation // Cannibalisme, Hérésie et autres Sauvageries
Rating: 1.0/5.0 — WTF, did I get the B-side?
Label: Kaotoxin Records
Websites: facebook.com | myspace.com
Release Dates: Out worldwide 10.01.2012
When you’re handed a deathgrind album by a band with a name like Savage Annihilation, that supposedly has themes on cannibalism, heresy and other barbarities, you can’t help but crave the sweet, metallic taste of blood and excitement in your mouth! It was a bitter pill to swallow when, about a minute and a half into the album, I saw my hope lying bludgeoned and in a wet, sticky heap on the floor at my feet. Savage Annihilation are a French band, formed in 2002 from members of the goregrind band Defecal of Gerbe and black metal band Brennkelt and they boast that their sound is aimed at fans of early Morbid Angel (we’re talking Abominations or Altars era), early Krisiun and early Sepultura. Savage Annihilation recently signed up for a multi-album deal to up-and-coming French label Kaotoxin Records (Kaotoxin is home to Ad Patres, Darkall Slaves, Dehuman, and a whole heap of other names I’ve never even heard of), and despite being in the industry for a great amount of time, this is Savage Annihilation’s first full-length release.
I’ll start off by saying that the entire album is in French, so I can’t comment on the lyrical content, be it good, bad or awful, and maybe that’s actually in Savage Annihilation’s favour [I bet they’re singing about cheese and surrender – Steel Druhm]. The album opens with an obscure ‘song’ and I use the term loosely, aptly titled “Le commencement”. The track is really just an accumulation of sounds and I’m choosing to believe it’s a horde of cannibals on a rampage, om nom nomming everyone in their path! The remaining tracks, shall we say, fail miserably in reaching the ridiculousness of Last Days of Humanity and never even get close to the savagery of Inhume – in other words this album is about the most watered down, mediocre deathgrind I’ve ever come across.
The guitar work on the album is decent, and technically well-played, but their effect is lost by uninspired machine gun riff after machine gun riff and soloing that completely lacks any relevance. The drums – how shall I say this – well they’re just down-right fucking annoying, sloppy as hell and they’d probably make Pete Sandoval weep in frustration. The mix on this album leaves me deeply troubled, vocals are pushed so far back that most of the time all you hear is mumble, mumble, mumble AAAAAAHHHHHH, and while I love a well placed, brutally evil, blackened scream as much as the next girl, Dave’s screams just leave my black heart cold and unmoved.
Album art for Cannibalisme, Hérésie et autres Sauvageries is actually a brutally accurate, completely spot-on representation of the album. What does one
say to that? Would well done be the correct term? [damn, that IS one ugly cover – Steel Druhm] In most instances well done would seem appropriate, however in this instance I have to say the album art is ugly as sin and entirely too chaotic and just generally doesn’t give me any wish at all to buy the album!
Just in case my rating and my dig at nearly every aspect of this album weren’t enough of a hint to stay away from all things Savage Annihilation, then I shall say it once again. This album consists of entirely generic deathgrind that manages to achieve levels of directionlessness impressive even in grind. I can’t point you to my favourite tracks on the album as I have none, and in fact it was the well placed silence between “Dans un océan de putridité” and “En état de decomposition” that had me thinking – OMG it’s over – of course my hopes were quickly dashed when the following tracks kicked in.
With blood pouring from my ears (and not my mouth where it should be), make it stop!
