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A rich, lifelike sound that compliments an intense, commanding performance.-
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| Jungle Rot: Kill on Command |
Death Metal
Victory Records
June 21st, 2011
- Their Finest Hour - 5:35
- Bloodties - 4:01
- Rise Up and Revolt - 3:59
- Kill on Command - 3:27
- Demoralized - 3:21
- Push Comes to Shove - 3:18
- I Predict a Riot - 2:56
- No Mercy (From the Merciless - 3:30
- Born of Contagion - 4:11
- Life Negated - 2:41
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| Review Information |
Release length: 36:58
Review posted on August 18th, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 9.5/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Slaughter the Weak (1997) • Dead and Buried (2001) • Fueled by Hate (2004) • War Zone (2006) • What Horror Await (2009)
Kill on Command (2011)
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| EP(s): |
Darkness Foretold (1998)
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| Single(s): |
Rise Up & Revolt (2011)
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| Demo(s): |
Skin the Living (1995) • Rip Off Your Face (1995) • 4-tracks Promo (1997)
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| DVD(s): |
Live in Germany (2006)
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| Review |
In what appears to be one of the most questionable moves from Victory Records, the label has started to sign some pretty impressive straight forward Death Metal acts. Jungle Rot happens to be one of those new Death signings, and perhaps the most baffeling of them all considering the band's past and their previous labels. But, then again, the band has never really been too far from the underground, leaving Victory one of the biggest they have signed to outside of 2009's What Horrors Await that saw a home on Napalm Records. Wutg a strong full-length discography, some would fear Kill on Command, the band's sixth full-length album due to their choice of labels, but really, what it all boils down to is how solid a product that the group offers their listeners. Does Kill on Command let the fans down, or is this another solid Death Metal recording from Jungle Rot?
Obviously, when it comes to this label, the album obviously has a cleaner production quality. However, it's more stemming from what appears a stronger budget and not just overly digital production. The music is pretty clear and definitely has that modern day sound to it, but it's got enough of a bite and kick to it that it's not sterilized. The bass shines through nicely, the guitars are deep and help with the bludgeoning sound, and the drums are perfectly leveled with a nice click to the kicks and the rest of the kit sounds realistic without sacrificing a heavy sound to them. In a sense, the release sounds a bit like a modern day Hardcore effort, just with crisper guttural vocals that sound great and more along the lines of modern Kataklysm. All of this works to set a cleaner, yet still brutalizing modern day Death Metal effort that kicks off with a slower trudging sound on the start of "Their Finest Hour". The song does have a generally slower pace, though there are some moments it builds up a little bit, mostly during a few bridges near the climax and the guitar solo around the same time. Other then that, the song focuses nicely on using it's higher production sound to make a more bludgeoning sound, but taking that cleaner modern Hardcore quality to the audio's sound and using it nicely assert a good deal of primal authority to the mix.
If you didn't pick up on that more Hardcore authority in the audio on "Their Finest Hour", you can pick up on it with the commanding slower paced breakdown that occurs later on in "Bloodties" among other tracks later, such as "Push Comes to Shove". This works to create an intense early Death Metal sound that works very well at amping up the intensity and really making you feel like you need to stand up straight at attention and not that you just want to sit back and hear the barrage the band brings with them on this effort. These slower chugging elements exist throughout the song, and with the crisper audio, it just sounds fantastic. "Rise Up and Revolt" uses that very well too, basically creating an anthem of Death Metal to make you feel like you are about to charge, and once the song finally picks up, you'll be ready to jump forward and declare war on the nearest living thing in the form of the most hard hitting circle pit, headbanging all the way.
Overall, there's one thing that really works in favor of Kill on Command, and that's aggression. The album is full of it, and while not all the tracks have a rather brutalizing Death Metal sound, the rest have a good deal of intimidating authority to them. "I Predict a Riot" is one of these tracks. While it's not a song that will last past a good number of spins, it's more attitude-driven sound works well to make it a song you won't soon forget. But, other then this track, there's no other song on here that won't hold your interest after a few spins. The rest of the album basically follows the same kind of commanding approach to the sound, but in no way does it ever get boring or tiring, it's moreso just the general atmosphere of the recording.
Kill on Command is not necessarily a surprise hit album, mostly because fans will have known what to expect the second they heard that there was a new Jungle Rot album in the works. The group does not fail the listeners in any way, and outside one track that will grow a little boring after a while, Kill on Command does a great job at showing how a Death Metal album can really benefit from a solid modern recording quality. The album sounds intense and in your face every second with rich music, and bass you can easily feel from the speakers. It's sad that we, as listeners, can't really find more albums with such a rich and lifelike sound that captures the intensity and energy a band brings with them as well as this. If you're a fan of the style, there's honestly no reason to pass this effort up. Then again, if you're a fan of Jungle Rot, chances are you've already picked this album up without having to hear a word anyone had to say about it...
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Victory Records.
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