voila_la_scorie So, I see here on MMA that these guys formed with the intention of playing brutal technical death metal with influences from the early Florida death metal scene. I am not sure how much of the music on this album reflects the latter; however, the former is firmly in place. This is fast, brutal, and all-over-the-place technical death metal.

I think I stumbled across the band while checking out various death metal artists on Amazon, and Decrepit Birth appeared as a recommended artist. At the time, I was open to anything and a quick listen to them on YouTube left me with the one decision: which album to get. I decided on this, their second album (out of four so far), and for it what is, I rather like it.

I must say that it is not easy for me ever to describe an album like this, nor is it easy to pick out favourite songs. The reason is that the music typically follows the same construct from song to song. We're talking about a single vocalist who roars a deep gutteral vocal, blazing fast guitar leads and complex and speedy riffing, blasting drums with both double-bass pummel drumming and speedy and complex rhythms beat out, or rather thrashed out, on the snare and toms. My guess is that the bass guitar is just as busy. I usually pick out favourite songs by awesome riffs, a cool bass break, a good melody, or some outstanding feature that makes a track distinct from the others, and it is really difficult to do that here. While a pop metal song might be described as a good children's book read out by a dramatic story teller, Decrepit Birth play more like an auctioneer. Of DOOM! Ha, ha!

But seriously, once you start giving each track it's own ear space, there are lots of bits of cool stuff in there. Just listening to the title track now, I can here some wonderful lead guitar melodies and some cool riffs here and there. There's one of the bass breaks I look out for showing up on "Enigmatic Forms". Listen to that mellow, clean guitar opening on "Dimensions Intertwine" that leads into some Nile-like riffing before returning to typical Decrepit Birth style, and then surpise! acoustic guitar! Admittedly though, just skipping through the songs does make the album seem a little repetative. So again, each track needs to be given some ear time to catch when the speed slows down, and great riff drops, and guitar lead goes soaring by, or something different happens. Interestingly enough, there's a track called "And Time Begins" which was the title of their first album.

Like many extreme metal albums I have picked up recently, I find this album sounds good and is fine to listen to front to back and any track can be pulled off for stand alone listen (the last is a short instrumental with, I believe, synthesized strings). But again, it's not easy to call out any particular favourites. The recording quality is good. The album sounds great and is on the loud side, so I usually have to click the volume a notch or two down when the ear buds are in and this comes on.

Recommened for fans of technical, brutal death metal!

Kev Rowland

Formed in 2001, these guys can’t be said to be the most prolific act as this is only their fourth album, and the first since 2010. Their line-up is Bill Robinson (ex-Suffocation) on vocals, Sean Martinez (ex-Rings Of Saturn, ex-Decapitated) on bass, Sam 'Samus' Paulicelli (ex-Goatwhore, ex-Abigail Williams) on drums and Matt Sotelo (Deprecated, Soulside) on guitars, so it’s no surprise that they all know what they are doing given their experience. This is technical death metal, based on incredible drumming, and on the concept that anything is possible. This means that they refuse to stick within what people would normally think of death metal, bringing in progressive metal influences, and hooks that are way more mainstream. Something else that is unusual within the genre is that this doesn’t feature any guitar solos in the normal sense, they’re all really fast palm-muted riffs.

Apparently, the guys haven’t been touring for the last three years, but they are coming back with a vengeance, and their forthcoming trek with Cryptopsy sounds like a show not to miss. I feel incredibly fortunate to have heard two of the best death metal albums I have ever come across in just one week, and of the two Decrepit Birth just have it over Cytotoxin. Released on July 21st, this is one for the diary as if you are a fan of bands such as Suffocation, Death, Origin, Obscura, The Faceless, Fallujah, Nile, Decapitated, Cryptopsy you can’t afford to miss out on this

Conor Fynes 'Polarity' - Decrepit Birth (7/10)

Although death metal now spans across the globe, it is still very much alive and well in its homeland, good ol' America. From California, one of the genre's pioneering US scenes (the other being Florida), Decrepit Birth have brought in the new millennium with a very impressive, technical approach to the style. This 'tech death' angle has picked up much momentum over the past decade. Generally, this style is becoming more and more distinct from the more traditionally aggressive sound of 'classic' death metal. With an often overbearing focus on complex, yet soundalike riffs, and blatantly mechanical production, tech death has rarely appealed to me outside of its classic context. That's where Decrepit Birth come in; although they indeed fall in line with the 'tech death' scene, the quality of their work here on 'Polarity' has me look past the weaker aspects, and take it for what it is. Suitable to my tastes it isn't, but 'Polarity' is one of the best modern tech death albums I've heard.

The guitar is the central aspect of almost all metal, but the presence and importance of the guitars in Decrepit Birth cannot be underestimated. For better or worse, the songwriting almost entirely revolves around the wizardry of guitarist Matt Sotelo. The other musicians are obviously audible, but there isn't a moment on 'Polarity' that goes by where there's any question what drives Decrepit Birth. Of course, the sound would be plain were it not for the drums. In this case, percussionist KC Howard is at the top of his game. He has a mastery of making the double kick sound intense and aggressive, although he covers some more subtle ground with the brilliant interlude track 'Solar Impulse'. However, the bass work on 'Polarity' is a tad difficult to hear when mixed in with the rest of the sound. Arguably the weakest aspect of Decrepit Birth's sound are the growled vocals. Contrary to what the "Concerned Christian Mothers Association Of America" may profess, there is plenty of potential for emotion in growls, and that's not something I am feeling here. Bill Robinson certainly has a presence with his low-register grunt, but there is virtually no range when it comes to his performance.

Decrepit Birth are almost certainly inspired by the band Death when it comes to the music they make, particularly that band's more technical and progressive material. The complexity of composition is executed proudly, and there is a general sense of musicianship to 'Polarity' that justifies Decrepit Birth attempting such a degree of activity within their music. Decrepit Birth may be a stronger act than many tech death bands I have heard, but they do not escape from many of the problems I have become used to within the style. Most notably, the band rarely sounds different from the legions of other tech death bands. They may execute this particular sound with a greater sense of intelligence than many, but 'uniqueness' is something that Decrepit Birth's music suffers from via absence. With that in mind, Decrepit Birth's 'Polarity' cannot get the full recommendation, but it is surely among the most successful albums I have heard within this narrow style.