Released primarily as means of something to promote for the band’s stint on the 2011 installment of the Summer Slaughter tour, History Repeats is a mostly all-covers EP cobbled together by Dying Fetus, who at this stage in their career can get away with such meaningless tactics. At least they’re not going the Six Feet Under route and re-recording an entire classic album…talk about the true definition of “meaningless.”
At any rate, the band is paying tribute to the band’s who influenced them, so the likes of Napalm Death, Cannibal Corpse, and Bolt Thrower are covered, to varying degrees of success. CC’s “Born In A Casket” is right in the band’s chunky, grinding wheelhouse, while Napalm’s “Unchallenged Hate” is a spastic blur, which isn’t really DF’s specialty. But the heads-down, hop-in-your-tank sound of Bolt Thrower is, which is probably why their rendition of “Unleashed Upon Mankind” is enjoyable. Broken Hope’s “Gorehog,” and Pestilence’s “Twisted Truth” round out the “name” covers, while a new song
(“Rohypnol”) is aired, perhaps as a precursor to the band’s next full-length.
Because their career trajectory has essentially leveled off and stabilized, Dying Fetus are enabled the opportunity to have some fun, which clearly entails busting out covers from their favorite bands. Hard to get one’s head aroundHistory Repeats as some kind of selling point for the Summer Slaughter tour, though – the Dying Fetus name says enough as it is.
(This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)