If there is one thing that is more paradoxical than hipsters, that would be the notion of being a “true” metalhead. If you are considered a “poser” and don't enjoy that, you can try to make changes so as to fit better within the “trueness” criteria. Change that Slipknot to Slayer, change that Evanescence to Epica, switch from Roadrunner Records to Relapse Records. Declare jihad on rap music, despise the “breakdown” and the gay “pig squeals”, and adore the almighty SOLO. In case you're afraid you may have missed a few steps, there are handy “How to be a metalhead” guides all over the internet that will say everything you need to know about what bands to listen to, what classical composers to bring up in the middle of a conversation and what bands to detest with all your molecules.
To me, though, it seems like a nuclear war between your ego and your musical taste which always ends with everyone dying in the nuclear winter. Right off the bat, if you sacrifice your whole identity just to be considered part of something, it makes you a poser. Just the fact that you're searching for “trueness” automatically makes you as “untrue” as one can be. And what's worse, it harms music. It means some truly awful music gets lauded, and some not so awful music is hated like if it were an RIAA lawsuit. Well, Perverse Recollections Of A Necromangler has been received like an RIAA lawsuit with a trollface and saying “Problem?” at the end.
So, this debut presents a sound that fuses Deathcore with Slam Death Metal, meaning that a fair amount of people already detested the album before they had even heard it. Their argument goes somewhat like this: “Deathcore and Slam use breakdowns, and breakdowns suck balls, right? There you have it, I already dismissed the album as absolute shit and haven't even heard it yet. Hooray for me!”. A quick listen would not only prove them right about the breakdowns being omnipresent on Waking The Cadaver's music, but it would also make them notice the constant pig-squeals and the lack of almost anything else. So yeah, the album consists entirely of stuff people tend to hold a grudge against for no particular reason. And it only gets worse when you read the incomprehensible lyrics. And did I mention just how mindless it all sounds together? Yeah, this sounds stupid.
Now, I would like you to put two and two together. The band calls their genre “Slamming Gore Groove”, and it is a mixture of Deathcore and Slam Death Metal. The album is called Perverse Recollections Of A Necromangler, and the songs have names like “Raped, Pillaged and Gutted”, “Pigtails Are For Face Fucking” and “Interlude”. It's funny how quite a lot of people seem to have missed the dead giveaways that this release is not trying to compete with their beloved Megadeth or even their beloved Machine Head. This is an album that does not challenge your intelligence in any way and makes it fairly obvious that it isn't even trying to. As a result, if you feel insulted by it, the joke's on you.
I agree that the music is really stupid, structurally uninteresting, lacking in atmosphere and otherwise anything respectable, and that the riffs suck, if they exist at all. But the end result is fun. It's unintelligent, unengaging, unadulterated fun. I rarely headbang when I listen to music, but that didn't keep me from doing so while I listened to the chug-a-lug guitars and barely present bass, all accompanied by some of the dumbest and most anticlimactic vocals I've ever heard. And you know what? The vocals are awesome! And the breakdowns are cool! And behind all the layers upon layers of stupidity, there are some hints here and there of some actual skill, which makes an album that would otherwise be worth only a handful of listens now be worth a handful of listens and another two or three more.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying that this album is good. It's not even close to good. But it definitely isn't absolute garbage. It's okay, and very entertaining. It won't change your life or anything like that, but it won't make you regret having listened to it. So, drop your “true metal” bullshit and give this a listen. Or don't. Like I fucking care...
Standout tracks:
Connoisseurs Of Death
Type A Secretor
Blood Splattered Satisfaction
Pig Tails Are For Face Fucking
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