HARVESTED

HARVESTED     “Dysthymia”

By Dr. Abner Mality

The amount of Canadian extreme metal talent is phenomenal indeed. Figuring out the proportion of such bands compared to the general population will probably show the Canucks blow the USA away. Not that that’s hard with the “leadership” (sic) we have these days…

If you’re into relentless death metal in the vein of CANNIBAL CORPSE and DYING FETUS, HARVESTED from Ontario could be your favorite new band. These guys have churned forth a classic of brutality with “Dysthymia” (which my keyboard always writes as “dysrhythmia”). The sound is just as clear and professional as those bands and HARVESTED deal crushing riffs and transitions with appalling intensity. One of the best things about this album, which separates it from a lot of “brutal” efforts, is that the songs are easily distinguishable and don’t melt together in a faceless mush. The song “Repressed Neurosis” is my favorite here and one of the best pure DM tracks of the year...a great merging of mid-paced thuggish chug with faster, more ballistic parts. The vocals are pretty much the typical grumbles and nothing new but at least delivered with competence.

Sometimes HARVESTED has a choppy, almost mathematical approach to their riffing that shows their more technical side, like “Designed Dilemma” and “Voice of the Void”. “Unanchored” has a touch of deathcore to it, but because it’s the only track with that characteristic, it’s not overbearing. I do have to say that last track “The Infection” comes across as the most generic and CANNIBAL-cloning of the set.

Complaints are few here. “Dysthymia” is one type of mental illness that might do you some good.

HARVESTED