Band:	Antagonized
Album:	Intense Perversion
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	March 2010
A review by:	Thryce

01. Intro
02. Antagonized
03. At The Final War
04. Cynical Developer
05. Intense Perversion
06. Venomous Incineration
07. When Death Comes
08. Witches Suffering
09. Witch Hunt
10. Coronation Of Our Domain

Death metal
Recorded: Insomnio Studios, Panama 2009
Unsigned/Self-released
Total Running Time: 33:13


Quick question: what's so special about Panama? Nothing? Well, hold on to your ass.


Things you didn't know about Panama #1: metal bands around there sure as fuck can kick the ever-loving shit out of someone with just a debut release.

Let us be clear, Antagonized are running amok all over this debut album. After an excruciatingly superfluous intro the band descents into sweet mid-paced-to-fast-paced death metal chaos. The band will be corrupting your ears with a tsunami of ravaging riffs, making the songs practically indistinguishable from each other. On certain moments I do have a problem with the higher-pitched guttural screams though. Those are harsh but often not ballsy enough for the overall performance.


Things you didn't know about Panama #2: people from Panama know people... dangerous people.

For this release, Antagonized worked together with Alex Marquez of Malevolent Creation fame, who co-produced the whole thing, laid down some raw powerful drumming and, altogether, delivers some pure death metal goodness. Marquez' drumming is quite prominent and also pretty essential for the whole concept. So yeah, good call.


Things you didn't know about Panama #3: metal bands don't bullshit around when it comes to album titles.

When a Panamanian metal band names an album Intense Perversion, you know exactly what that means, exactly what they're up to and exactly what you're getting into: crudeness, rawness and trivialized brutality.

PS: there's also an excruciatingly superfluous interlude somewhere called "Witches Suffering", that's about the only track that doesn't really live up to its name.


Things you didn't know about Panama #4: album recordings take place in an alligator-infested sewer in downtown Panama City.

So yeah, maybe the production isn't topnotch. On the other hand, this gives the record some kind of unpolished and even vulgar touch, capturing a sort of old school feel, I guess. So maybe it isn't such a terrible thing after all.


Antagonized in a nutshell: you won't see this band shitting any Grammy's for Best Metal Performance any time soon. But you know what though; I heard worse before... a lot, lot worse. Antagonized are cool in my book, and they have what it takes to put Panama on the metal map.