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|| Artist......: Beaten to Death ||
|| Album.......: Unplugged ||
|| Year........: 2015 ||
|| ||
|| Genre.......: Death Metal ||
|| Label.......: Mas-Kina Recordings ||
|| ||
|| Source......: FLAC/WEB (16bit) ||
|| Encoder.....: libFLAC ||
|| Bitrate.....: 1011kbps avg. ||
|| F.Rate......: 44.1kHz ||
|| ||
|| Playtime....: 00:20:52 / 159.17MB ||
|| R.Date......: 2024-10-25 ||
|| S.Date......: 2015-10-09 ||
|| Website.....: https://open.qobuz.com/album/cqgod0bycb4db ||
|| ||
|| ||
|| 01. Papyrus Containing the Spell to Summon the Breath 1:54 ||
|| of Life Enshrined in the Collected Scrolls of ||
|| Sheryl Crow ||
|| 02. I Keep Stalling 1:04 ||
|| 03. Home of Phobia 1:20 ||
|| 04. Til himmels (for å gjete gud) 1:53 ||
|| 05. Menstrubation 1:43 ||
|| 06. Don't You Dare to Call Us Heavy Metal 1:34 ||
|| 07. Promise Catharsis 1:55 ||
|| 08. Greenway/Harris 1:08 ||
|| 09. End of an Error 1:42 ||
|| 10. "Death to False Grindcore" 1:48 ||
|| 11. Robert Sylvester Kelly 1:36 ||
|| 12. Knulleviser for barn 1:51 ||
|| 13. Troll 1:24 ||
|| ||
|| ||
|| Beaten to Death: standard grindcore band name, anything but a ||
|| standard grindcore band. Featuring ex-She Said Destroy vocalist ||
|| Anders Bakke, ex-The Cumshots guitarist Tommy Hjelm, and ||
|| Tsjuder drummer Christian "Bartender" (aka AntiChristian aka ||
|| Jorn's drummer since 2014, so you know he's epic), Beaten to ||
|| Death formed in 2010 and wasted no time putting out their first ||
|| record Xes and Strokes just a year later. I missed this at the ||
|| time because I am a tool, but fortunately Angry Metal Guy (or ||
|| rather Jordan Campbell) was on hand to enlighten me come 2013 ||
|| and the release of the band's sophomore Dødsfest! I immediately ||
|| fell in love with their spectacular genre-bending tomfoolery ||
|| and Dødsfest! set up camp right at the summit of my end-of-year ||
|| list (even featuring as an "ish" on AMG's). They are rather ||
|| good, you see. ||
|| ||
|| Though ostensibly a grindcore band, Beaten to Death have always ||
|| had at least one foot out of the grind closet, and Unplugged ||
|| pushes the limits of the genre further still. Their genius lies ||
|| in an ability to marry incredibly aggressive vocals and ||
|| drumming not only to the expected pummeling riffs, but also to ||
|| remarkably uplifting melodies, creating a highly original style ||
|| which, combined with their unique production choices, endows ||
|| them with a sound quite unlike any other band. Outrageous ||
|| opener "Papyrus Containing the Spell to Summon the Breath of ||
|| Life Enshrined in the Collected Scrolls of Sheryl Crow" (sorry ||
|| Vehemence, we have a new Song Title of the Year front-runner) ||
|| provides a good example, commencing with traditional ||
|| death/grind fury before segueing smoothly into major chords and ||
|| legato riffs to end on an almost happy note. The combination of ||
|| melody and brutality crops up in the majority of tracks, from ||
|| the wonderfully named "Home of Phobia" (say it quickly) to ||
|| closer "Troll," with great dollops of groove chucked in between ||
|| - see in particular the brooding "Knulleviser for Barn"1, and ||
|| pulsating "Til Himmels (for å Gjete Gud)" that references the ||
|| verse riff from Strapping Young Lad's "Love?" Only Napalm Death ||
|| tribute "Greenway/Harris" is all grind, all the time, and quite ||
|| rightly too. ||
|| ||
|| Beaten to Death don't just write fantastic riffs, they craft ||
|| them into perfect little songs each with its own personality ||
|| and charm. The track lengths on Unplugged are consistently ||
|| between one and two minutes - short but not novelty length - ||
|| which gives them enough time to develop and explore a couple of ||
|| ideas without falling into the trap of creating riff soup. The ||
|| amusing song titles are also cleverly applied: "Death to False ||
|| Grindcore" features one of the prettiest melodies on the ||
|| record, while "Robert Sylvester Kelly" bumps and grinds its way ||
|| into the closet of your memory. "Don't You Dare to Call Us ||
|| Heavy Metal" is the winner here, though, teasing with ||
|| stereotypical thrash riffs before launching into a rousing ||
|| melodic chorus overlaid with repeated shouts of the song title. ||
|| Attempts at humor often backfire for "serious" bands, but ||
|| Beaten to Death get this spot on. ||
|| ||
|| The band's previous records were both recorded live in their ||
|| rehearsal space, giving them a refreshingly rough sound that ||
|| bristled with energy. I couldn't find any information on the ||
|| recording process for Unplugged but assume it was much the ||
|| same. It sounds a little better than its predecessor as the ||
|| occasionally irritating frequencies in their trademark twangy, ||
|| lightly distorted guitar tone have been tamed, and the ||
|| instrumental balance feels perfect. Keeping the bass in a ||
|| vortex of distortion while reigning it in on the guitars was a ||
|| great choice as they still sound thunderously heavy, but can ||
|| bring some subtlety to proceedings when required. ||
|| ||
|| I am head over heels with this record: it fulfills my every ||
|| grind need while providing a bucketload of depth, variety, and ||
|| humor, all in a perfect run-time of just over twenty minutes. ||
|| My one minor complaint is that, despite the superior ||
|| songwriting, predecessor Dødsfest! probably has the edge in ||
|| overall riff quality, but it's tough to call. Either way, ||
|| Unplugged is the best grindcore album of 2015 and Beaten to ||
|| Death are the best grindcore band since Nasum. ||
|| ||
|| -- Angry Metal Guy ||
|| ||
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