UMUR "Infatuation With Malevolence" is a compilation album release by US death metal act Dying Fetus. The compilation was released through Wild Rags Records in 1995. "Infatuation With Malevolence" comprises the tracks from Dying Fetus two demos "Bathe In Entrails (1993)" and "Infatuation With Malevolence (1994)". The original version leaves out "Tearing Inside the Womb" from "Bathe In Entrails (1993)", but later reissues include that track and some additional live tracks. The tracklist is constructed so the 5 tracks from the "Infatuation With Malevolence (1994)" demo open the compilation, followed by the 5 tracks from the "Bathe In Entrails (1993)" (the reissues feature the bonus tracks at the end).

Right off the bat it´s obvious that we´re listening to Dying Fetus. Seldom have I heard a band with such a clearly defined musical style already on their demos, and that goes for the tracks from both "Bathe In Entrails (1993)" and "Infatuation With Malevolence (1994)". The tracks from the latter are slightly better produced, more compact and very close to the style the band play on their studio albums, while "Bathe In Entrails (1993)" features a slightly more old school sound. I say slightly though, because we´re still treated to ultra heavy breakdowns, brutal growling, and a high technical level of playing, rather than tremolo picking, D-beat and other old school death metal gimmicks. Even the trademark Dying Fetus vocal style, which alternate between deep aggressive growling and completely unintelligible processed growling, are in place already on "Bathe In Entrails (1993)". There is focus on brutal grooves and aggression, but there are occasional blasting in the music too.

Quality wise this is a pretty strong compilation, and fans of the band are adviced to check it out. I´m pretty impressed by how professional sounding both demos are, both when it comes to the sound productions but also when it comes to the playing and songwriting. I´m not surprised that Dying Fetus ended up having a relatively successful career. It´s almost always hard to use the word successful when describing an extreme metal career, because people tend to think of success as commercial success, which for almost any extreme metal act isn´t true. For the time Dying Fetus take on playing death metal was also quite innovative, and it´s not strange to me that they are often mentioned as an influence by many of the more groove oriented and brutal death metal and deathcore acts that followed. When that is said their music is also slightly one-dimensional, and the tracks aren´t easy to tell apart and therefore a 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted. A little more stylistic variation between tracks could have earned the compilation a higher rating.

J-Man After releasing two demos in the first half of the nineties, Dying Fetus made their first proper CD release with Infatuation With Malevolence in 1995. This compilation originally contained both of their demos, but the latest reissue on Relapse Records contains a handful of tracks not contained on the original release. Infatuation With Malevolence is a pretty underdeveloped album from most perspectives, but it does hint towards the promise that Dying Fetus would show on their consecutive releases. This isn't a must-own by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a good purchase for any Dying Fetus fan.

The music here is very primitive death metal with plenty of technical touches. The grindcore influences that dominated Dying Fetus' debut full-length aren't as prevalent here, but they are still present. Compositionally, this album is pretty mediocre and largely unremarkable - Dying Fetus improved in this department over time. One of the best things about Infatuation With Malevolence is the great musicianship, and, even though Dying Fetus would grow as musicians over time, it's amazing how skillful they were this early in their career. The production is raw and of demo-quality, but I honestly would take this over the first two Dying Fetus full-length albums any day. The production on those albums is almost unbearable.

Infatuation With Malevolence is a decent compilation album from Dying Fetus that most fans of the band should definitely take a look into. It's lacking in the composition department, but it's a promising start for a band that would end up becoming a crucial part in the U.S. death metal revival. With a new reissue containing boatloads of bonus material on the horizon, any fan of the band who missed out on this may want to finally give it a spin. 2.5 stars is a fair rating, seeing that this is mainly a "fan-only" release. Infatuation With Malevolence doesn't come highly recommended from me, but it's not a bad purchase either.