CoC : Houwitser - Rage Inside the Womb : Review

Houwitser - _Rage Inside the Womb_
(Osmose Productions, 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis (5 out of 10)

Houwitser contain no less than one ex and two current members of Sinister. Considering that 60% of its members have played in Sinister at one time or another, it comes as no surprise to hear that Houwitser perform aggressive death metal with an old school touch. What may come as more of a surprise is that despite Houwitser's pedigree this is easily one of the more boring death metal releases that I have had to endure recently. The musicianship is more than adequate, the music sufficiently violent, no major problems with production -- but the songwriting is sadly lacking and Houwitser are simply unable to produce the goods. It takes more then sheer brutality and heaviness to ensure a decent song; all the songs are similar and hard to distinguish from each other. They may worry about comparisons with Sinister, but escaping Sinister's shadow is not Houwitser's biggest problem -- what should concern them is their absolute lack of individual identity, which makes it virtually impossible to distinguish Houwitser from the multitude of bands peddling second-rate death metal. Simply beginning each song with some gruesome sounding sample is insufficient for this task. I cannot, in all honesty, give this album anything more than 5 out of 10 -- an average mark for an average album.

(article published 3/7/2002)

ALBUMS
15/8/2003	X Hoose	7.5	Houwitser - Damage Assessment
14/3/1999	A McKay	9	Houwitser - Death... But Not Buried