DYING FETUS
DYING FETUS “Make Them Beg for Death”
by Thor
The mighty DYING FETUS is back with another ten-song slab of beat-down death metal called “Make Them Beg for Death”. Spoiler Alert: It crushes.
Ask me, and nine times out of 10 I’ll say my favorite death metal band is DYING FETUS. Their extreme metal brew is comprised of all the various flavors of heavy that I enjoy—the good cop/bad cop vocal approach featuring gnarly gutturals, the slamming, chunky beatdown hardcore riffs interspersed with passages of technical fireworks, and some of the best (yet criminally unheralded) drumming on earth, delivered with tempo dynamics that include lethally powerful and precise blast beats, King Kong slams, and everything in between.
Despite being around for over 30 years and enduring a million lineup changes early on, DYING FETUS has never sounded like their Death Metal 1.0 peers. In fact, relative to the pantheon of fellow old-school growlers, these guys have among the most distinctive, consistent, and identifiable styles, yet each album sounds unique. And “Make Them Beg for Death” is no exception.
“Make Them Beg for Death” is a quintessential DYING FETUS album, through and through. As such, it’s best to describe it within the context of the band’s canon. Sonically, its closest relative is probably 2012’s “Reign Supreme”. The mix is organic and on the warmer end of the spectrum. The East Coast Hardcore influences are here as well, as are the synchronized arpeggiated sweeps, but this album leans a bit more into dark melodic territory than many past albums. But not by much. It also appears that John Gallagher has discovered his whammy bar and enjoys implementing it in his riff arsenal. If this all sounds fairly superficial, it’s because it is. These are minor distinctions that give this album its character within the band’s catalog, but at the end of the day, it’s a DYING FETUS album.
Fans of moshable beat-down style hardcore, brutal death metal, slam, and tech-death will find a lot to like here. And if you’re a DYING FETUS fan, then “Make Them Beg for Death” is as close to a sure thing as you can get. The album’s out now through Relapse Records. Go get it!