NECROPHAGIST — Onset of Putrefaction (review)

NECROPHAGIST — Onset of Putrefaction album cover

Album · 1999 · Technical Death Metal

4/5 · 2015-08-13
UMUR

"Onset of Putrefaction" is the debut full-length studio album by German death metal act Necrophagist. The album was released through Noise Solution Records in September 1999. The original version was limited to 1000 copies but "Onset of Putrefaction" was re-released in 2004 through Willowtip Records/Relapse Records (with a different cover artwork) following the success of the band´s second full-length studio album "Epitaph (2004)". In 1999 Necrophagist was a one-man project consisting of Muhammed Suiçmez who recorded all vocals, guitars, and bass on the album (except for a few guests performances by other musicians) as well as programming the drum computer. The 2004 re-release features completely new drum samples recorded by Hannes Grossmann and a couple of bonus tracks in the form of two older demo tracks. So the original release varies quite a bit from the re-release.

The music on the album is brutal technical death metal. It´s a tried and true genre, which was already the case in 1999, but Necrophagist is one of the more original sounding acts on the scene. The musicianship is on a high level. Muhammed Suiçmez is an incredibly skilled guitarist and we´re treated to both brutal heavy riffing, very fast-paced technical riffing and many guitar leads and themes (with an occasional neo-classical touch). The addition of "real" drum samples on the 2004 re-release have lifted the quality of the music considerably. The programmed drums on the original release were acceptable, but nothing beats the sound of the real deal. And when the real deal is "recorded" by a drumming capacity like Hannes Grossmann you just know you´re in for a treat. The hi-hat and cymbals still sound a bit artificial, but it´s a minor issue. The deep and for the most part unintelligible growling vocals (OK let´s call them partially intelligible as I often catch words and phrases) are pretty standard for the genre but they get the job done. The lyrics feature your typical blood´n´gore type themes which is also apparent from songtitles like "Foul Body Autopsy", "To Breathe In A Casket", and "Advanced Corpse Tumor".

Considering the fact that this is pretty much a one-man project, the sound production is powerful and quite frankly very impressive. It suits the music well. All features combined make "Onset of Putrefaction" quite a great brutal technical death metal album. A genre of death metal that doesn´t always excel in delivering memorable music, but often focus all energy on being über brutal and incorporate more tempo changes, breaks, and technical playing than what is sometimes bearable for the uninitiated. It´s the songwriting that sets "Onset of Putrefaction" apart from many contemporary releases in the genre. The tracks might not be easy to tell apart on first listen but they are actually pretty catchy and memorable for the genre and the many well played leads and generally sophisticated riffing give the music a boost that not many releases in the genre can rival. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

more than 2 years ago
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Necrotica wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Great review for one of my favorite metal albums of all time. I love how this album, despite having a lot of technical wank, STILL manages to maintain emotional depth and great songwriting