UMUR
"Fearsick" is the second full-length studio album by US death/thrash metal act Inhuman Condition. The album was released through Listenable Insanity Records in July 2022. It´s the successor to "Rat°God" from June 2021. The trio lineup of Terry Butler (bass), Taylor Nordberg (guitars), and Jeramie Kling (vocals, drums), who recorded the debut album is intact on "Fearsick". The tracks "I'm Now the Monster" and "King Con" features guest guitar solos by Rick Rozz. Both Rozz and the three permanent members of Inhuman Condition were at some point members of US death metal act Massacre and the band is named after Massacre´s 1992 "Inhuman Condition" EP.
The material on "Fearsick" doesn´t sound much like Massacre though, although there´s definitely an old school death metal edge to the album. It´s instead a thrashy old school death metal style, which sounds a little like Power Trip gone death metal. Kling has a commanding and raw growling vocal delivery which is fully intelligible and both his vocals and his powerful drumming style are great assets of Inhuman Condition´s music. There are zero contemporary influences heard on "Fearsick" (no groove laden heavy riffs, no break-downs, no hardcore influenced screaming vocals, and no clean vocals), which sounds like it´s culled directly from the late 80s/early 90s US brutal thrash/death-thrash metal scene. Artists like Solstice, Demolition Hammer, and Devastation aren´t the worst references.
"Fearsick" features a powerful, raw, and well sounding production job. It´s not terribly different sounding compared to "Rat°God" and in that respect there hasn´t been much development between the two releases, but I´m sure that´s not really the point. This type of music is just meant to crush you skull and send you on a murder spree, and that´s exactly what you´re prepared to do after listening to "Fearsick". A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
