CoC : The Ravenous - Blood Delirium : Review

The Ravenous - _Blood Delirium_
(Red Stream, 2004)
by: Aaron McKay (6 out of 10)

If ever one could more assemble a torrid assortment of the rotting greats in the field of gore metal, they'd have the challenge of their lives of topping The Ravenous. "Underground" doesn't begin to explain these cannibalistic (un)human subversive demons, as Necrophagia's Killjoy, Brutal Truth's Danny Lilker and Autopsy's Chris Reifert, among other twisted sorts, wreak havoc throughout their newest pile of steaming blood-soaked cess. Fellow label mates Bethlehem have a near monopoly on pure derangement, whereas The Ravenous challenges their stranglehold on random delusional construct with _Blood Delirium_. Horrific, vivid splatter movie sampling accompanies the perverse subject matter all throughout the newest The Ravenous offering. As if you needed proof, you can imagine what these ghouls can do with song titles like "Nightmares in a Damaged Brain", "Baptized by Demon's Piss" and the always intriguing "A Corpse Is Forever", which is not a love ballad in case you were wondering. Getting past their tracks of celebrated bile-festering afflictions, The Ravenous pile on interesting song arrangement and captivating metal segues to pique the curiosity of even the most discerning critic. Subject matter and lyrical content aside, this band of gore lords incorporate a host of developed arrangements throughout most of their work. Enhanced by a multimedia CD-ROM bonus of "Mordum" and "August Underground", The Ravenous treat their disciples to a depraved and grisly look into the inner workings of their indulgence(s). Without having the benefit of digesting the EP _Three on a Meethook_ (2002), _Blood Delirium_ suffers somewhat compared to the well-crafted _Assembled in Blasphemy_ (2000). The newest effort by The Ravenous stewed untapped behind the scenes ("Festering Beneath the Fog") for sometime before unleashing its wrath on the metal community. Having that kind of time to ferment, a more mature album could have been crafted. While in no way does _Blood Delirium_ fall short on its promise of torturous debauchery, Killjoy, Danny and Chris arguably could have made this offering their (viking) crown jewel.

(article published 19/4/2004)