If there was an Ol’ Reliable of the musical world, it would be death metal. While the core sound has seen some evolution over the years, the timeless ideology remains unchanged: to inflict sonic blunt force trauma. Inhumed, a young trio-turned-quintet from Canada, aren’t interested in any fancy subgenre qualifiers that might dilute the pure death metal ideology; no, they’re here to hurt you. With their latest EP, Feasted Upon Like Carrion, Inhumed sets out to deliver an old-school onslaught for the ages–but is simple bloodlust enough to provide true death metal carnage?
It’s easy to get swept along by the earnest abandon of Feasted Upon Like Carrion. Aesthetically and lyrically, Inhumed could be mistaken for a goregrind band, but musically they evoke Gateways to Annihilation era Morbid Angel with a modern Revocation edge–the guitars wail with precision, the drums gallop, and the two singers can growl with the best of ‘em. Granted, these musicians are no professionals and are full of the ham-fisted energy native to young artists, but what an energy it is! “Exhibitions of Beauty” and “Fed to the Skies” joyfully trip over themselves to reach the next idea as riffs refuse to stagnate or even breathe. Beyond just restless zeal, Inhumed display an infectious ambition; “The Ascent” and “Vengeance on a Godking” play at gravitas with orchestral forays, and I admire the audacity of “A Defiance of Faith.” Whatever issues this album may have, the passion oozing from every inch of Feasted Upon Like Carrion is genuinely endearing.
Unfortunately, all that passion is smothered by the weight of immature songwriting. Inhumed is laser-focused on immediacy, to a point where the material feels suffocated. Brutal though it may be, “A Defiance of Faith” is left toothless due to an impenetrable deluge of riffs that merely happens to the listener, while the more engaging moments in “Fed to the Skies” are strangled by blaring drums. A few chugging riffs in “Exhibitions of Beauty” and “Fed to the Skies” hit pretty damn hard, but are far too brief and indistinguishable from each other, their potential wasted. Where things really fall apart are the guitar solos; a perfect storm of incompetent writing, excessive length and clumsy execution, they are equal parts baffling and debilitating, dragging down every track they’re a part of. Harp though I may, Inhumed are no hacks–the muscular “Vengeance on a Godking” is the album’s clear highlight, and is dangerously close to reaching earworm status thanks to a killer breakdown preceded by the best verse here. “Vengeance on a Godking” might be no stranger to the problems plaguing the album as a whole, but it grabs you in a way the other tracks don’t.
Feasted Upon Like Carrion fails as a great death metal piece by exhausting the listener instead of electrifying. It’s more than just the songwriting; the production is equally guilty. On the one hand, it’s polished in a way that little is drowned out; the bass has a particularly welcome presence, especially on “The Ascent” and “Vengeance on a Godking.” On the other hand, nothing feels distinct–well, except for the guitar solos, which do their respective songs no favors. The result is a flat texture, an unpleasant wall of sound; every instrument in “A Defiance of Faith” is in a constant, grating battle for supremacy. It’s not that such a violent approach is untenable, since Aborted have been killing it for ages now, but Inhumed lack the focus necessary to make it work. Even the great “Vengeance on a Godking” falls victim to the wheel spinning that each track devolves into. Inhumed are not incapable of delivering on their potential, but such wanton heavy-handedness hobbles ideas that otherwise could work.
This is an album that is, sadly, less than the sum of its parts. Inhumed’s greatest weakness is conflating raw energy with true heaviness; even when the genre is at its most chaotic, cohesion is key to delivering a legitimately powerful death metal assault. There’s nothing cynical or half-assed about these icy metallers, and I admire the passion with which they play–but all that passion is gutted without the songwriting maturity to let it truly soar. When all is said and done, this is death metal that doesn’t hurt you so much as it shakes you by the shoulders.
Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps
Label: Self Release
Websites: inhumedcanada.bandcamp.com/music | facebook.com/Inhumed
Releases Worldwide: July 14th, 2023
