Having reviewed the previous offering from the Milwaukee juggernaut of Prezir, and giving it a respectable 8/10, I was keen to secure their new aural onslaught in the shape of ‘Depredation’ and see if they have managed to keep the momentum going from that of their previous offering.
After the initial listen there are glaring disappointments sitting alongside the beauty and craftsmanship being delivered. The main disappointment for me negates the need to deconstruct the album and deliver each track to you individually, and that is that the model and deliverance being exhibited is very one dimensional. There are no changes in direction between the tracks and there is no switch to the power and speed which makes each song into its own, the whole album just seems to pick one path and continue this right up until the closing bars of the album ring out.
That being said, the album has many positives and strengths which almost rescue this and launch a full-on war on your senses. The tracks are built and delivered at breakneck speed, it is an album which could pit itself against many of the greatest thrash albums out there in terms of breakneck speed and all-out frenzy. The fretwork from both the six and four strings is something to be marvelled at. The six strings generate mesmerising riffs and solos, the craftsmanship and general skill is overflowing and generally lead the way for the rest of the band to follow. The vocals are vicious and venomous, being spat out with spite. The lyrics are malevolent and incite aggression and pure decadent malevolence and sin in equal measures. The vocals are powerful and beautiful in the world of the black arts but the whole corpse of the album is built around a titanium vertebrae constructed by the wonderous talents of the Wisconsin sticks man Brian Serzynski, each beat and crash is a success and nod to the talents of his band mates with whom he is trying to keep pace with.
So, in conclusion, this is not a bad effort by any means, if truth be told, it is a massive accomplishment in each individual facet and a true exhibition of the skills of each of the band members, in fact to say that this is the work of only 3 men is a triumph in itself. I just do not think I can get past the fact that the album is so one dimensional and shows no change in the format with which they have chosen to portray their chosen genre, it just does not stand up to the brilliance and variety shown in the first full length of their career ‘As Rats Devour Lions’
Worth a shot if you have no new material to add to your collection, if you have an album waiting list, it may be worth not pitching this one right at the top
(7/10 Phil Pountney)
Leave a Reply