UMUR
"Descend Into Depravity" is the 6th full-length studio album by US, Maryland based death metal act Dying Fetus. The album was released through Relapse Records in September 2009. Dying Fetus have been through several lineup changes in the last couple of releases, and there´s been a couple of changes to the lineup since "War of Attrition (2007)" too. Second guitarist Mike Kimball has jumped ship leaving guitarits/vocalist (and only remaining original member) John Gallagher as the band´s sole guitarist. Drummer Duane Timlin has also left, and is replaced here by Trey Williams. The new three-piece lineup is completed by bassist/vocalist Sean Beasley.
From the first notes of the opening track "Your Treachery Will Die With You", it will be abundantly clear to most listeners that Dying Fetus have changed their brutal technical death metal formula almost none, and that they continue down the exact same path as they tread on "War of Attrition (2007)". The shift between unintelligble deep growling vocals and slightly more intelligible aggressive growling vocals, the tempo changes, the fast arpeggios (and even the rare neo-classical influenced moment), the ultra heavy breakdowns, it´s all in place. As is the top notch musicianship and the technically challenging performances. It´s Dying Fetus as they´ve pretty much sounded since day one. So it´s not drastic stylistic changes you´re looking for, when reviewing a Dying Fetus release, but rather the quality and catchiness of the songwriting...
...and in that department "Descend Into Depravity" belongs in the better part of the band´s output. The material on the 8 track, 33:47 minutes long album is most effective and crushingly heavy and brutal. You may not be able to tell the tracks apart upon initial listens, but given a few spins the tracks become more recognisable and memorable. It´s the immediate impact of the violent sonic assault which is the real winner here though, and you´re a real badass if you come away from listening to this album without a sandblasted face. The brutality and aggression of the material is scorching. "Descend Into Depravity" features a powerful, raw, and detailed sound production too, so upon conclusion it´s a high quality release by Dying Fetus. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.