Sounds Of The Underground: Murder Made God - Irreverence

Hello there everyone, and happy 4th of July to my American readers (if there are any). I'm back after 2 and a bit weeks hiatus, in which time I've gone crazy several times over, drunk enough to pickle myself, and absolutely fucked shit up at this year's Hellfest. In the next week or so I'll be doing a complete feature on Hellfest 2013 but for now I'm here to say that I'm back with a vengeance and to review one of my most highly anticipated death metal albums of the year, and now without further ado, here it is...

1. Throne Of Derision
2. An Ambiguous Era
3. Hollow Skulls
4. The Endless Void Of Human Hunger
5. Reaching Ground Zero
6. Aberrant Course
7. Methods Of Humanity
8. Let It In, Breathe It Out
9. One Thousand Tongues

Greece is one of those nations that, despite having some big names (Rotting Christ, Firewind, Septicflesh) and some good names in the underground (Sickening Horror, Echidna, Suicidal Angels), is constantly forgotten about by most people in the metal world. I can't deny that I'm one of those people that when learning about a new band from Greece will occasionally go "Greece has metal???". However with this band I have a feeling I won't forget again. Murder Made God signed to Brutal Bands (great label, check them out) recently, and I must say thanks to Bloodshot Dawn, (if you haven't heard of them check them out), because otherwise this is a band that would most likely have gone unnoticed by me, for a while at least.
Straight away these guys show they mean business on "Throne Of Derision". Brutal tremelo-picked riffs paired with some brutal double-bass work to create a great track, crushingly heavy but full of groove at the same time, while also not skimping on the technicality. Then without a second to waste, the album segues seamlessly into "An Ambiguous Era". Grooves and fantastic off beat riffs are everywhere on this album, with many of the "stop-start" riffs adding to the overall brutality nicely. This is distinctly less technical than some similar bands (Decrepit Birth, Cytotoxin), lacking in sweeps and flashy solos but still containing plenty of rhythm, brutality and groove a la Hour Of Penance or Dying Fetus. The drumming on this album is particularly impressive, every blastbeat is on point and some of the fills are truly excellent. The vocals are raw and powerful and every has a great rhythm to it.

"Throne Of Derision", "Reaching Ground Zero", "One Thousand Tongues" and "The Endless Void Of Human Hunger" are all tracks I've found myself coming back to again and again, and while this is not as instantly accessible or memorable as other bands in the genre this album has definitely grown on me.

In summary, this is a promising first album from a band that has much to show the world of death metal, this will not be for everybody but fans of brutal/technical death metal will enjoy. These guys have shown once again that Greece is a force to be reckoned with.


7.5/10

For fans of: Dying Fetus, Hour Of Penance

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Irreverence is out now on Brutal Bands

Now that I've dealt with this I'll have a couple of live reviews for y'all in the next couple days and then my feature for Hellfest 2013. Stay metal fuckers. Peace!! \m/