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REVIEWS:
Czech
Republic's brutal death metal formation Despise return with
this 6 track EP "Fragments Of Reprisal" after their admirable
2005 "Confinement In Decreptitude" promo. There's 3 new
tracks, two re-recorded cuts from the band's "Promo 2006"
and, much like on their 2005 effort, a classic death metal
cover track, this time Internal Bleeding's ‘Anoited In Servitude'.
Despise plays death metal reminiscent of a much faster Broken
Hope with extended chaotic, splintered leads and biting
vocals akin to Per Gyllenback era Deranged. Opening cut
‘Pain In the Afterglow Of Eyes' is a 6 minute exercise in
which Despise display all of these facets rather nicely.
‘Serenity Through Indulgence' starts of with a semi-industrial
intro and the track itself is a faster, much more modern
sounding piece with slight influences from (early) Fear
Factory. ‘Spiral Of Paranoia' and ‘Enshrouded In Misconception'
essentially differ not from their original incarnations,
yet the production does elevate these cuts considerably.
The riffing is rock solid with much attention to melody,
harmony while never compromising in brutality. The production
is fittingly gritty while retaining enough clarity, the
drum sound is a bit on the sterile and triggered side and
the bass guitar is sadly never heard, except briefly in
the Internal Bleeding cover. Artwork and lay-out aren't
all that spectacular but fit well enough with the music
at hand. Not the most groundbreaking band to date, but Despise
continues to infuse classic influences (leads, mid-tempo
sections, vocal diversity) into their current day brutal
death metal attack.
Masterful-Magazine.com
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