CoC : Mutilation - Conflict Inside : Review

Mutilation - _Conflict Inside_
(Adipocere, 2005)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10)

Compared to Abused Majesty and Naumachia, the other two Polish bands who have albums out now on Adipocere, Mutilation are the odd ones out in terms of genre (though quality-wise it would have to be Naumachia). Rather than melodic black with some death metal in it, Mutilation offer some brutish, straightforward old-school death metal. What strikes me as odd in their sound is the rather raspy vocal delivery, which lacks some of the guttural low-end usually associated with death metal. Some of the drum sound is also more on the tinny side of things than expected, although the buzzsaw guitar sound makes up for it somewhat. The overall result seems very likely to divide listeners as to how appropriate and successful the production really is, but riff- wise the band stays on comparatively safer grounds. There's not a lot on offer that will likely make you perk your ears, but on the other hand it does offer some harmless fun for the old-school enthusiast -- except he'll probably have a stack of more relevant examples of this style in his CD collection already. There are some rather good, quick double-bass drumming passages and the odd sequence that stands out -- take "Rise for Victory" as an example (never mind the Bolt Thrower rip-off near the end). Most of what is good about _Conflict Inside_ stems from smart drum breaks and the beefy guitar sound, but the riffs and vocals could be better. Not having heard their previous album _Possessed by Reality_, I can't really comment on the evolution of this band, who have been around since the early '90s. What I can say is that despite its obvious lack of originality, _Conflict Inside_ is a competent album with a couple of really good tracks -- but it's hardly a landmark.

Contact: http://www.adipocere.fr

(article published 7/4/2005)