UMUR "Destroy the Opposition" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US, Maryland based death metal act Dying Fetus. The album was released through Relapse Records in October 2000. It´s the successor to "Killing on Adrenaline" from 1998. There´s been one lineup change since the predecessor as guitarist Brian Latta has been replaced by John Voyles. The remaining members of the lineup are Kevin Talley (drums), John Gallagher (guitars, vocals), and Jason Netherton (bass, vocals).

Stylistically the music on "Destroy the Opposition" continues the brutal and technically well played death metal style of "Killing on Adrenaline (1998)", albeit with more politically charged lyrics. The tracks feature multible tempo changes (including death grinding blast beat sections and crushingly brutal groove oriented breakdowns), two growling vocalists who compliment each other with one unintelligible guttural growling style and a slightly more intelligible and more aggressive growling vocal style, high level precision playing (Kevin Talley deserves a special mention for his incredible drumwork on the album), and short lightning fast sweep picks, which by now have become a trademark of the band´s style. After listening to "Killing on Adrenaline (1998)" I didn´t think Dying Fetus would be able to take their sound to a higher level of brutality, but "Destroy the Opposition" proves me wrong.

It´s not unusual for bands in the brutal technical part of the death metal genre to reach high levels of brutality. That´s more or less a given. But Dying Fetus stand out from the crowd, because they write material which is hook laden and memorable. Not necessarily instantly catchy, but given a few spins it becomes apparent how well composed "Destroy the Opposition" really is. It´s not easily accessible music and there are no melodic hooks or anything like that featured on the album, so the memorable moments are typically a riff section, a certain rhythm pattern, or maybe a vocal phrase. The band master all of the various tempos and rhythm changes, but it´s the ultra brutal grooves, which take the prize as the greatest asset of the music. It´s impossible to sit still while listening to the album. It´s music which demands a physical reaction.

The 8 track, 36:25 minutes long album features quality material throughout. From the opening notes of "Praise the Lord (Opium of the Masses)" to the closing notes of "Justifiable Homicide", we´re treated to one crushingly brutal high quality track after another. The album features a raw, powerful, and detailed sound production, which further enhances the feeling that you´re listening to one badass brutal death metal release. So upon conclusion "Destroy the Opposition" is a high quality album by Dying Fetus and a 4.5 star (90%) rating is deserved.

Warthur In principle a highly politicised album, in practice the death growl on the vocals here is so extreme that they sound more like an angry burping frog, and you'd never work out what Dying Fetus are on about if you didn't read the lyric sheet. Still, you can tell from the music that they're angry, angry lads, because just as they turn the growlgrunts up to 11, so too do they turn up everything else. Clearly, Dying Fetus don't believe it's worth doing brutal death metal unless you are going to do BRUTAL death metal, and this is a pretty decent example of the form.