Humiliation - Turbulence From The Deep
Hailing from Malaysia is the band Humiliation. To be honest when I received this cd I didn't hold much hope for it. There was just something about it that gave me an odd feeling. I've not heard many Malaysian bands or bands from the Asian region in general, but the ones I have heard have not really been that good other than Tyrant (Japan) and Sigh (Japan), with Sigh's only memorable material being the "Tragedies" demo and the "Requiem for Fools" EP at least in my opinion. Outside of those 2 releases I have only heard 2 others and they couldn't hold a candle to the older material. With that being said, I seriously need to delve more into this region of metal bands because despite my lack of knowledge of Asian bands, and my few annoyances with this particular cd, I still find something intriguing about the methodology of them. Now I will tell you a bit about this CD.
When I put in in the cd player and hit play, I must admit I was quite surprised at the music. Dirty, sludgy, yet ever so slightly under-produced guitars and the sluggish tempo of the riffing reminded me quite a bit of Bolt Thrower mixed with a little Benediction, although not as technical. I really like this part of the CD. A little demo(ish) sounding which gives it a nice added touch of underground feel to the cd as a whole. There is nothing out of the ordinary or even inventive here. It's just the laid back, yet in your face way that it is played that makes the music 100 percent brutal. I thought then that maybe I was wrong to judge this CD so quickly. The drum work was nice as well. Nothing fancy or technical here, just straightforward brutal death metal. The one thing that did annoy me on the drums was the fact that it sounded like the guy was having trouble on the double bass. It would sound good in parts, but on other parts it sounded like he was having trouble with the timing. So, at this point, the CD has a lot going for it. The guitars are nice and brutal and the drumming sounds like ancient war drums sounding off for battle despite a slight glitch. This is reminding me a lot of the 2 above mentioned bands as well as Goatlord, Autopsy, (old) Paradise Lost and, dare I say, even a touch of older My Dying Bride in some parts. I know that may be going out on a limb there, but I am just mentioning what I notice. Now, with regret I have to mention what annoyed the hell out of me about this CD. Yes, it was too good to be true. When the vocals came in I was absolutely horrified. It reminded me of the vocals from Malevolent Creation when Brett Hoffman left the band after the release of "Stillborn". I did not like those vocals then and I do not like them to this day. It wasn't so bad when this cd first started, but the vocal pattern got increasingly more annoying and monotonous with each passing song. On top of that, the lyrics were pretty horrid, too. I am not sure if this was do to a translation process or the lack of putting complete sentences together as far as lyrics go. It was just too choppy in pronunciation and delivery lyrically and vocal-wise and at this point I must be honest, I just about shut this CD off at the halfway point. Absolutely no fluidity whatsoever. I have not reviewed a CD that annoyed me like this for a long time. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a total loss. It is still quite awesome music-wise, but it's just that the lyric writing and the vocals were absolutely horrible. A slightly raspier vocal pattern would have been really awesome on this CD. What would have been really awesome is if this would have been an instrumental release. Even so, I am not ready to write this band off yet. It's obvious they have talent to some degree and I will hold out hope that their next release will be a lot better than this one. I mean after all, Deep Send Records signed them and I don't believe for a minute that they would have signed Humiliation if they didn't have any talent.
All in all, with a little lyrical and vocal guidance, these guys would be a complete package and be a force to reckon within the metal world. What annoys me others may like. Hell, there might be someone out there that thinks this is the best CD they've heard this year. I am just reporting what I am hearing and how I feel about the CD. If there are people out there who love every aspect of it, then that is totally awesome. Even though I was annoyed quite a bit by parts of this CD, I will continue to listen to it from time to time and maybe it will grow on me. I will state that I will support this band no matter what because even though there are some flaws, they are busting their asses in the underground trying to make a name for themselves and that alone deserves my total respect and yours, too.
When I put in in the cd player and hit play, I must admit I was quite surprised at the music. Dirty, sludgy, yet ever so slightly under-produced guitars and the sluggish tempo of the riffing reminded me quite a bit of Bolt Thrower mixed with a little Benediction, although not as technical. I really like this part of the CD. A little demo(ish) sounding which gives it a nice added touch of underground feel to the cd as a whole. There is nothing out of the ordinary or even inventive here. It's just the laid back, yet in your face way that it is played that makes the music 100 percent brutal. I thought then that maybe I was wrong to judge this CD so quickly. The drum work was nice as well. Nothing fancy or technical here, just straightforward brutal death metal. The one thing that did annoy me on the drums was the fact that it sounded like the guy was having trouble on the double bass. It would sound good in parts, but on other parts it sounded like he was having trouble with the timing. So, at this point, the CD has a lot going for it. The guitars are nice and brutal and the drumming sounds like ancient war drums sounding off for battle despite a slight glitch. This is reminding me a lot of the 2 above mentioned bands as well as Goatlord, Autopsy, (old) Paradise Lost and, dare I say, even a touch of older My Dying Bride in some parts. I know that may be going out on a limb there, but I am just mentioning what I notice. Now, with regret I have to mention what annoyed the hell out of me about this CD. Yes, it was too good to be true. When the vocals came in I was absolutely horrified. It reminded me of the vocals from Malevolent Creation when Brett Hoffman left the band after the release of "Stillborn". I did not like those vocals then and I do not like them to this day. It wasn't so bad when this cd first started, but the vocal pattern got increasingly more annoying and monotonous with each passing song. On top of that, the lyrics were pretty horrid, too. I am not sure if this was do to a translation process or the lack of putting complete sentences together as far as lyrics go. It was just too choppy in pronunciation and delivery lyrically and vocal-wise and at this point I must be honest, I just about shut this CD off at the halfway point. Absolutely no fluidity whatsoever. I have not reviewed a CD that annoyed me like this for a long time. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a total loss. It is still quite awesome music-wise, but it's just that the lyric writing and the vocals were absolutely horrible. A slightly raspier vocal pattern would have been really awesome on this CD. What would have been really awesome is if this would have been an instrumental release. Even so, I am not ready to write this band off yet. It's obvious they have talent to some degree and I will hold out hope that their next release will be a lot better than this one. I mean after all, Deep Send Records signed them and I don't believe for a minute that they would have signed Humiliation if they didn't have any talent.
All in all, with a little lyrical and vocal guidance, these guys would be a complete package and be a force to reckon within the metal world. What annoys me others may like. Hell, there might be someone out there that thinks this is the best CD they've heard this year. I am just reporting what I am hearing and how I feel about the CD. If there are people out there who love every aspect of it, then that is totally awesome. Even though I was annoyed quite a bit by parts of this CD, I will continue to listen to it from time to time and maybe it will grow on me. I will state that I will support this band no matter what because even though there are some flaws, they are busting their asses in the underground trying to make a name for themselves and that alone deserves my total respect and yours, too.
- No Return
- Operation Obeo One
- Phosphorous Shell
- Calibrated Chaos
- Bachok's Invasion
- Sea Denial
- Home Front
- Total War
- Order Of Battle
- The Deadly Trouble
- Submerged At The Seabed
Label: http://www.deepsend.com
Reviewer: twansibon
Jul 25, 2013
Jul 25, 2013
Next review:
Roots Of Pain - Countdown To Armageddon
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