Embedded Files
200 STAB WOUNDS “Manual Manic Procedures”
200 STAB WOUNDS “Manual Manic Procedures”
By Dr. Abner Mality
The debut of this Cleveland death metal band didn’t impress me all that much and I lumped the band in with over-rated neo-death bands like SANGUISUGABOGG and UNDEATH. Well, I find myself eating a sizable portion of crow souffle after hearing their first offering from Metal Blade Records, “Manual Manic Procedures”. This is an improvement in every way.
One thing’s for sure, they sure don’t spare the gore. The cover art is pretty gut-churning and much of the lyrical content is also not for the squeamish. It’s a combination of CANNIBAL CORPSE in your face bloodlust and the clinical approach of CARCASS. As for the music, this is a 1000% improvement in production, as this has a full, rich sound that still retains a deep bottom end. Tracks like “Defiled Gestation” and “Parricide” are like getting run over by a hearse...straight up high velocity death metal with thrashy hooks to spare. You can’t argue with tracks like this!
Elsewhere, the band actually seems to experiment and work more with gruesome atmospherics. The opener “Hands of Eternity” starts with creepy ambience and plays around with intricate guitar work while still hitting hard...”Led To The Chamber” has even more unsettling synth and is a good lead in to “Liquified”, which is more technical than I would have ever imagined 200 STAB WOUNDS being after hearing their first album.
Now, to be sure, this is definitely following in tradition and not really offering anything new or even close to it. Let’s face it, the pioneer work in death metal has already been done by DEATH, CARCASS, CANNIBAL CORPSE and the Swedes. 200SW is not going to open stunning new vistas of creativity. But on “Manic Manual Procedures”, they do manage to slam your skull with classic gory death metal and that’s nothing to sneeze at! A pleasant surprise!
Report abuse