CoC : The Berzerker - The Berzerker : Review

The Berzerker - _The Berzerker_
(Earache, 2000)
by: Paul Schwarz (6 out of 10)

Earache's promotional efforts to characterise The Berzerker as if it were the final, horrific monstrosity finally seen at the climax of a horror film has not succeeded in preparing me for their arrival in such a way as to augment their musical impact. Essentially drawing on a grindcore/death base, extracted quite obviously from the halcyon days of their current stable, The Berzerker nonetheless interestingly underline standard blasts and aggressive rhythms with a techno drum sound and occasional garage-derived rhythmic breaks. They also dabble in keyboard atmospherics and splice some quite amusing samples between a number of their songs. But ultimately it is all mere dabbling, for neither any single song nor the album as a whole breaks new and exciting ground, failing even to, however distortedly, echo the past with any glorious resonance. The Bezerker don't by any means compare to experimenters with programmed drums and more danceable rhythms of the likes of Dodheimsgard, and even their reformatting of grindcore/death cliches only produces a finite number of seriously enjoyable moments.

(article published 25/5/2000)

ALBUMS
9/1/2002	X Hoose	7.5	The Berzerker - Dissimulate