DYING FETUS — Grotesque Impalement (review)

DYING FETUS — Grotesque Impalement album cover EP · 2000 · Brutal Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Grotesque Impalement" is an EP release by US, Maryland based death metal act Dying Fetus. The EP was released through Blunt Force Records in early 2000. The material was recorded at Hit and Run Studios in November 1999. "Grotesque Impalement" bridges the gap between the band´s second and third full-length studio albums "Killing on Adrenaline (1998)" and "Destroy the Opposition (2000)", and features the same lineup as the latter mentioned.

The original version of "Grotesque Impalement" features 6 tracks and a full playing time of 21:51 minutes. Relapse Records reissued the EP in 2010 and added 3 bonus tracks. The original version features 2 re-recordings of "Grotesque Impalement" and "Tearing Inside the Womb" from the "Bathe In Entrails (1993)" demo, a cover of "Streaks of Blood" by Baphomet, a cover of "Bringing Back the Glory" by Next Step Up, and two "comic" heavy metal tracks in "Final Scream (Prelude to Evil: Davey's Nightmare)" and "Hail Mighty North / Forest Trolls of Satan (Anno Clitoris 666)".

The 2010 Relapse Records reissue version (in addition to the above) features "Reduced To Slavery", which is an original composition from 2000, which was used as a Japanese bonus track on "Destroy the Opposition (2000)". "Purged Of My Worldly Being" is a live recording from 1999. It was a track which in it´s original form appeared on the "Infatuation with Malevolence (1994)" demo. "Dumpster Love" is a track recorded in 2010, which follows the "comic" heavy metal tradition of the two closing tracks of the origial version of the EP.

The re-recordings of the demo tracks, the Baphomet cover, and "Reduced To Slavery" all sound more or less like Dying Fetus did in those days. Brutal and techncially well played death metal with a strong focus on groove. So it´s the hardcore punk cover of "Bringing Back the Glory" and the "comic" heavy metal tracks on the EP, which make "Grotesque Impalement" quite different from the regular releases by the band. There´s a lot of melodic guitar playing and clean and semi-raw vocals on those tracks, which are quite new when dealing with Dying Fetus. A band which usually stands for unrelenting brutality. It´s nice to hear they also have a humourous side and it works pretty well.

Upon conclusion "Grotesque Impalement" probably isn´t the most important release in the band´s discography, but on the other hand the content is really entertaining and generally of high quality too. The sound production is slightly more rough around the edges compared to the two studio albums which bookend it, but it´s still well produced. So a 3.5 star (70%) rating isn´t all wrong.
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Vim Fuego wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Ya really can't go too far wrong with Dying Fetus. This is a pretty fair summation of this one.

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