If you had told me in 1994 that a band with the name Dying Fetus (DF) would eventually become one of the biggest names in death metal I would have told you to get your head examined…..but that is precisely what has occurred through the decades.  Dying Fetus returning with their ninth full-length album Make Them Beg for Death shows absolutely no sign of letting up on the brutal technical slam death pedal.

My history with the band goes back to 1994 when I was in Internal Bleeding we were signed to Wild Rags Records alongside Dying Fetus.  We played shows together in Canada and along the East Coast.  I became fast friends with the sole remaining members, John “I am not in Raven” Gallagher and Jason Netherton – still friends with these cats all these years later and I am so proud John stuck to his formula and never gave up, even through the plethora of line-up shifts.

DF has gone through various albums longer than previous ones and their last one, in 2017, Wrong One to Fuck With, was close to an hour long.  That’s really long for this type of brutality, but it was still a kick ass album.  Make Them Beg for Death, at 37 minutes, is more streamlined and the well-oiled machine with Sean Beasley and Trey Williams still in the fold, has crafted another crushing album that goes excellent with the Grindhouse-themed album cover.  Quite honestly one can even say, that the reason for me pointing it out, is the band has become more violent over their last several albums….just look at this album cover and their last one, for that matter.  Brutal.

“Enlighten Through Agony” opens with no fancy intros, just a brutal assault on the senses and Sean laying out his vocals clear and concisely and Trey punishing the drums as if they wronged him.  Then John’s brutal lower-end gutturals come in over the blast and it’s like this song is starting off relentless..  Blast beats galore and pure vintage 90’s era double-pounding moments and squealing guitar harmonics all over the place.  I am so stoked the band has not forgotten those pinch harmonics, over the decades, and they slice and dice all over the place.  The first real slam moments are towards the end with the isolated guitar riff at the 2.54 moment.  Yes, this is the Holy Shit moment.  The song traverses into a really good slam, that’s more mid-paced with the super-fast double bass drums.  So while not super slow, this moment, once it hits bodies will be flying from here to the Crab Nebula in 0.0 seconds.

 

“Compulsion for Cruelty” has more slams and mid-paced moments.  I love the opening guitar shredding but at the 22-second mark, shit slows down into a crushing signature DF groove.  For this moment alone, I would make this the opening song in a live setting now.  Because if you open with the first song, where there are lots of blasts throughout, then you’re not bringing in the crowd at the beginning.  This song is the perfect opener to get the crowd going at the beginning and there are some snappy blasts throughout, but the groove slam moments with more isolated guitar moments, like at the 2.15 moment will leave bones broken, heads and chest cavities caved in, yet you will be screaming for the slams not to end.  This song destroys from beginning to end.  One of the best DF songs the band has done!

“Undulating Carnage” has a nice opening and John’s vox takes over at the very beginning then the mid-paced moments have some very nice drum rolls and the 1.09 moment bursts into a monster blast and the alternating vox throughout this song of John and Sean, once again proves why DF is the best death metal band with dual vocalists.  The slow down at the 2.10 section with the long growl goes into a monstrous sink-hole pit-slamming moment that will choke slam you and your poodle through many layers of the Earth’s core.  Nice guitar harmonies/solos at the 3.30 section showcasing Dying Fetus maintain their technical edge as well.

Closing with “Subterfuge” is a smart choice.  Open the album strong and close the album, strong.  If the 29 second mark is not causing bodies to explode and cars careening off the “flat” Earth then I don’t know what the hell is wrong with this world.  DF have always ended their albums really strong and this track continues that trend.  With homages to early 90’s DF material, I just start swinging when I hear these moments.  Especially the last 25 seconds of this song – you will know it once you hear it.

Dying Fetus’ Make Them Beg for Death is yet another stellar album from one of the best death metal bands in the business.  By now you know what you’re getting from them.  If you enjoy their past albums then you will love this.  The music is well-written and the production is top-notch.  I like the mix and all instruments are heard perfectly through the whirlwind blasting moments.  I do feel the mix shines a bit more during those slower moments, they are earth-shattering.  One of the top albums for 2023 and this is a Buy or Die!!

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