Do you enjoy your death metal most thoroughly when it reeks of decaying viscera and echoes the sounds of torturous carnage? You do?! Then hold onto your butts, for Tormented is poised to offend your delicate fuckin’ sensibilities with the churning tomb stench that embodies Rotten Death, the band’s 2009 debut repackaged and exhumed by Listenable Records. These chaps have taken cue from the good old Swedish death metal of yesteryear, sounding like a deader, nastier Dismember or Entombed.
Creating a sound that’s older and crustier than the panties King Diamond’s granny wore to her grave is no simple feat, yet Tormented have done it with flying colors. Not really surprising considering the pedigrees of some of Tormented’s members though (time spent in Edge of Sanity, Pan.Thy.Monium, and Marduk). So it should come as no shock to discover that the tunes of Rotten Death are appropriately filthy and buzzing with flies.
Opener “Rotting Death” gets the coagulated blood flowing, using evil movie samples as an intro layer before lurching into a full-on pummeling of the ears. It’s here that the listener begins to be sucked down into the putrid, whirling vortex that Tormented create so expertly. The sick, haunting guitar melody in “Blood of the Undead” complements the underlying audial filth behind it — a thick, rank wall of distorted and buzzing guitars, hellish drum assaults, and painfully gruff vocals. The commanding, torturous chant of “Come back from the dead!” and solo blitz of (you guessed it) “Come Back from the Dead” keep up with the theme of rotten death that pervades throughout Rotten Death.
Along with newer groups the likes of Death Breath and Entrails, Tormented hold the deteriorating, puke-soaked flag of old school Swedish death metal high, waving it furiously in the faces of their enemies (purveyors of deathcore, perhaps?) before swiftly kicking their proverbial teeth down their breakdown-mangled throats. Long live the sounds of decay!
Referencing the panties King Diamond’s granny wore to her grave is neither apropriate nor decent within the context of a metal review.
on Dec 29th, 2011 at 15:15Please show more respect.
1. I will be sure to include your delicate sensibilities in the list of things I must consider before writing a review the next time.
2. You have no idea how much time and effort were put into creating a sentence containing both the words “granny” and “panties” without making the two rhyme (it was at least 90 seconds).
on Dec 29th, 2011 at 15:47