The USA is well known for playing host to some of the finest slam bands the world has to offer and Massachusetts four piece Dysentery are no exception to this rule. This snarling beast of a band may have just created their most brutal record to date with their third full length release Fragments.
The album is a 32 minute powerful dose of hearty, slamming brutality divided nicely into small, digestible chunks. Combining both tenacious chugging grooves with fierce speed and technicality, Fragments is a guaranteed win for any fans of contemporary death metal in any of its forms. There are distinct undertones of many brutal death pioneers such as Dying Fetus, Internal Bleeding and Cerebral Bore in places and Scott Savaria’s vocals are an intense, guttural joy throughout.
Fragments is so damn heavy that it borders on death doom at points. The second track Led to Terminal Ignorance is a brilliant example of this, as it possesses such crushing levels of groove and force peppered with some lively speed thrown in for good measure. As a matter of fact, the entire album consists of thirteen tracks that combine both thunderous, chugging levels of doom and rigorously precise speed brilliantly. Grave Evolution is a perfect example of this, a track with some delightfully conspicuous blast beats that has a strong Epicardiectomy vibe to it. Another real strong track is Neurological Snare. This song is easily the albums knockout number, siding more within the realms of brutal death metal than straight up slam. However, Neurological Snare is the anomaly of the album in terms of straying slightly from the slam path, as the majority of Fragments is chock full of slamming goodness.
There are also plenty of catchy little numbers on Fragments too. Within Descending Skies they will Suffer has several mightily infectious riffs throughout and both Voice of Deprivation and Divinity from the Void features Savaria’s vocals at their catchiest yet.
Fragments is one hell of an explosive album and is a thoroughly enjoyable listen from start to finish. Every track contains both monstrous levels of brutality and groove combined with refreshing shots of technicality and speed. This is both a powerful and motivating album that, with the dramatic rise in the popularity of slam in recent years, is dead set to go down a storm in the underground death metal scene. If you like things loud, heavy and uncompromisingly brutal, then look no further than Fragments!
(8/10 Eilish Foxen)
Leave a Reply