Dehumanized – Beyond the Mind (Comatose Music)
Monday, 3rd October 2016
Somethings just happen to stand well with the test of time. Brutal death metal, particularly the NY style earlier championed by bands like Suffocation, is something that this scribe can fall back into with a moment’s notice provided it’s well done. One of the bands that have stuck to this market for well over two decades (well, there a few dormancies in there somewhere) at this point is Dehumanized. Don’t expect innovation for the band’s third offering, but it’s an entertaining romp for the death metal enthusiast.
NYDM is ever the fitting description of this brutal act. Take the Suffocation/Internal Bleeding/etc formula and Dehumanized nicely fall into this (“Black Market 2099” is particularly Suffocation-y). Fast, speedy riffs, low growls, and killer slowdown with mid-paced breakdowns/slams are par for the course from beginning to end. Yes, there’s never a moment that doesn’t feel like it could have come from the mid-‘90s core from which it originated (even its surprisingly bright cover art and sampling), this is a band that has found what works for them, and they are going to stick with it. There’s been some slight improvements over 2012’s Controlled Elite in regards to song structure and overall flow, and that’s perfectly well and good. Dehumanized know how to keep these elements fun – just listen to the stomping riffs of “Abyss Ambassador” without a sly grin or wanting to headbang as the slamming mid-tempo riffing begins.
If you are in the market for slamming death metal that keeps things riff-heavy with plenty of ‘90s charm, Beyond the Mind will suit your needs. It’s not particularly inventive or going to push any boundaries, but it’s full of fun, brutal riffs and should give you a solid feeling of nostalgia for a time when technicality wasn’t the first order of death metal.
