Defeated Sanity - The Sanguinary Impetus review
| Band: | Defeated Sanity |
| Album: | The Sanguinary Impetus |
| Style: | Brutal death metal |
| Release date: | July 2020 |
01. Phytodigestion
02. Imposed Corporeal Inhabitation
03. Conceived Through Savagery
04. Entity Dissolving Entity
05. Insecta Incendium
06. Arboreously Transfixed
07. Propelled Into Sacrilege
08. Drivelling Putrefaction
09. Dislimbing The Ostracized
What would it sound like if Frank Zappa wrote a brutal death metal album?
Something that needs to be immediately addressed, given the rating that sits adjacent this write-up, is that this album is a musical masterpiece. Its precision and planning extend beyond the reaches of almost any death metal album ever recorded, justifying the aforementioned grandiose proclamation from this reviewer purely on the basis of merit derived from technical proficiency that places second to none among not only its predecessors, but its contemporaries -- most of whom fall on the side influenced by, rather than being an influence of, Defeated Sanity. The substantial jazz persuasion, particularly in regards to the odd time signatures, chaotic drumming, and creative wanderings, separates this from even the most progressively inclined extreme metal releases of the past decade, its overwhelming nature the primary character flaw. Considerably challenging for anyone to endure, The Sanguinary Impetus practically fends off listeners with its burdensome 35 minutes of meticulously crafted brutality, apathetic to criticism.
Which is good, because what follows will be more criticism than praise, despite the previous paragraph's initial hype.
Defeated Sanity have found comfort in pushing the envelope since their inception, exploring the edges of death metal's boundaries, but this latest push has taken them across a line: the line of what's enjoyable. It's a magnificent performance, likely to be used as a study guide for future generations of death metal bands, but therein lies the problem. As otherworldly and impressive as it is, it becomes something more suitable to show off to unsuspecting victims of this display of hypersonic discipline. It's like reading a thesaurus, filled with multi-syllabic and archaic words, but there's no story for said words to tell. Without a cohesive point-to-point structure, it becomes a chore to piece together for yourself, which limits the potential reach it has to capture various demographics. Instead, it narrows its search to those who have time and effort to wade through individual components of each track, dissecting every element along the way, exploring their favorite words and using them to write their own novel. And this is why a release of this magnitude, while theoretically deserving of a perfect score, falls shy of that mark. It covers all the bases and ticks all the boxes while executing them in a bold disregard for tradition and form.
Depending on your intent and perspective, this will either adorn the top of your various "best of" lists, or you'll give it one listen and never return to it again. It's almost impossible to imagine there being much room for an in-between section, though surely it exists. Independent of purpose, fans of guttural growls, seismic bass, subatomic distortion, and forward-thinking song structures will have plenty to feast upon, as The Sanguinary Impetus is rife with those qualities, but the inherent difficulty in retaining the information on hand could prove too demanding to attempt.
 | Written on 30.08.2020 by I'm total pro; that's what I'm here for. |
Comments
Comments: 10
Visited by: 64 users
| Cynic Metalhead Paisa Vich Nasha Posts: 6809 From: India  |
Quote: Those are strong appealing words for the Brutal death metal album. I'll get to around once I get back from my work.
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| Batlord666 Posts: 145 From: USA |
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Posts: 21306 From: Canada  |
Written by Cynic Metalhead on 01.09.2020 at 09:34 I wasn't speaking in hyperbole; I genuinely believe this to be one of the best performances on record in the genre dating back to its origins, but I know that it won't be received well by the average listener. There's little to no melody, accessibility, or easy listening atmosphere. It's 9 rounds of a grueling assault on the senses, so I don't expect the overall score to be indicative of the talent on display. Looking forward to seeing whether or not you agree.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Posts: 21306 From: Canada |
Written by Batlord666 on 01.09.2020 at 23:11 I was debating a 9 solely because the drums, which are the highlight of the album, aren't given quite the boost in the mix they deserve, but decided on 10 because I think the blanket effect is a perfect choice to go alongside how challenging the music is. It fits within the theme of abrasion. So I suppose it's more of a symbolic perfect rather than a tangential perfect, if that makes sense.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Cynic Metalhead Paisa Vich Nasha Posts: 6809 From: India |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 02.09.2020 at 00:58 Having sat through a couple of times with this record, I'm actually on the same boat with you. Perhaps why I again quoted you with para that I fully agree upon. Great album. It's something that's gonna stick for a long time whenever I want to hammer my ears rather than picking another run-on-the-mil brutal death metal. This possesses extensive appeal.
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| sgtrobo Posts: 577  |
Picked it up on CD and gave it several listens, and I think you are spot on with it. still figuring things out about the album before I rate it
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| Mario Montes Posts: 75 From: Spain  |
This isn't the Defeated Sanity album I've enjoyed the most. In fact, right now I'm one of those who gave it a try or two and inmediately got tired of it. Not because I don't enjoy complex music, I just feel exactly the way you said in your review: It just feels llike mindless wankery to me. Not because it's not well executed (which is not the case AT ALL), but because it lacks any narrative when it comes to song structure. This review is pure gold, and from now on I'll pay more attention to your next ones.
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Posts: 21306 From: Canada |
Written by Mario Montes on 05.09.2020 at 18:19 Thanks for the kind words. This also isn't my favorite Defeated Sanity release; in fact it may be my least favorite. It's just not something I think I'll ever return to despite its excellence. Instead it'll be something to namedrop in conversation, which doesn't seem to reflect the 8.5 score I gave, but that has more to do with a balanced rating of my personal and critical opinion of the album. I'm curious to see whether they continue this style on their next album or if they scale back the wanking a bit and focus more on songwriting and flow.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Mario Montes Posts: 75 From: Spain |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 05.09.2020 at 18:31 All this makes me think about their previous album (Disposal of the dead // Dharmata). A studio album formed by two different EPs, two different faces of Death Metal. Maybe the idea behind this new album was simply "let's just try to be as technical as we can, let's show-off ", as a self-challege. Just the same way they focused on raw brutallity and technicality/elegance on Disposal and Dharmata respectively. They seem to be exploring their capabilities. I'm not the biggest Brutal Death Metal fan in the world, but I certainly appreciate thes guys so much.
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| sgtrobo Posts: 577 |
I gotta give some credit, at first this was a big blob of 'mindless wankery' but it is growing on me as time goes on. I've had to increase my ranking for it several times over the last few months as a result
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