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A new direction that is far better then upset fans admit.-
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| Pestilence: Doctrine |
Death Metal, Groove Metal
Mascot Records
July 19th, 2011
- The Predication - 2:02
- Amgod - 3:33
- Doctrine - 3:07
- Salvation - 3:40
- Dissolve - 3:39
- Absolution - 3:38
- Sinister - 3:58
- Divinity - 4:06
- Deception - 3:57
- Malignant - 3:49
- Confusion - 3:54
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| Links |
| Review Information |
Release length: 40:23
Review posted on July 14th, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 7.5/10 |
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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): |
Malleus Maleficarum (1988) . Consuming Impulse (1989) . Testimony of the Ancients (1991) . Sphere (1993)
Resurrection Macabre (2009) . Doctrine (2011)
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| Demo(s): |
Dysentery (1987) . The Penance (1987)
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| Compilation(s): |
Mind Reflections (1994) . The Consuming Rehearsals (1989) (2006)
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| Live CD(s): |
Chronicles of the Scourge (2006)
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| Review |
Roughly two years since Resurrection Macabre, Pestilence bring us Doctrine, the follow-up to their much anticipated come back album from 2009. The group formed back in 1986 and hails from the Netherlands. Originally the band broke up in 1994, but in 2008 the group reformed and issued an album that was met with both put down and praised by the Metal community. However, for their sixth full-length release, the criticisms have been pretty harsh up to this point, but again seem to be split between positive and negative feedback, though more focus paid on the latter of the two. So, thos this effort really find Pestilence dropping the ball? It appears so, but more to those who hated the last album for whatever reasons they had.
Right away, Doctrine is not going to be one of the strongest Death Metal efforts put forward by this band, butyou can tell the group is still putting some heavy material out. The quality of the release sounds a little empty, which could be contributed to the overall production value of the release, and it does hurt the album a bit by not letting it have as strong a bite as it should, it still allows the music to sound heavy, but not as deep as it should be. The guitars sound heavy and work well for the release, and the bass is present, though it feels more like an afterthought to the music then an actual crucial instrument, coming off a little lighter then it really should be, or at times just feel like it's segregated from the music. The drums, however, can be the worst. The bass kicks and cymbols sound great, but the snares are obviously too loud, as if they were podded up in the mix, or, from what it really sounds like, the microphone was too close, which causes the snares to sometimes be louder then the guitars, cymbols, and bass kicks. In "Doctrine", there are moments where the music becomes more technical and allows the other instruments to be picked up a little better, which is when the bass feels seperated, and the bass snares sound atrociously loud. This is also in many other tracks, like the following "Salvation" which happens to focus a lot on the snares to progress the drumming for the track.
While on the top of "Salvation", the track actually comes off more like a chugging Deathcore track for a good majority of it with generic breakdowns that carry the song along at times. It's not a bad track thanks to Pestilence putting a little energy into it and some more familiar "technical" chords here and there. It's not one of the stronger tracks though, but it's far from a bad track. However, the start of Doctrine with "The Prediction" doesn't do so well. The introduction does set up some atmosphere to the recording in the drawn out two minutes it takes to reach the end of it, but moreso to set things up for the following intense and more technical "Amgod" which concludes the same way it starts through what sounds like a demonic priesty spouting off in another language with other voices whispering in the background while his voice becomes distorted. This is easily one of the better tracks, and the addition of some technical riffs does help the song along, though that becomes an element that does hurt some songs that start off the album, and isn't necessarily as bad later on.
The vocals are also worth mentioning. These are not a traditional rhaspy style or guttural approach. While they are on the rhaspier side, they come off being screamed and vile, though some songs like "Doctrine" use vocal distortion, which just sounds ridiculous in the long run. It will take a little while to get accustomed to if you don't like it at first, but it's the overall hopeless and insane sound of the vocals that ties everything together so well, and when there are some deep gutturals that back up these vocals, they sound monstrous. All of this helps out when the music itself starts to get a little chaotic and enhance that bleak and hopeless sensation. "Dissolve" is the perfect example, and it really sets up a gloomy, desperate setting for the listener with intimidating music that is only faulted by it's lack of a richer, deeper quality. "Absolution", however, shows the band's Progressive roots, and while it's very interesting, it's not something that should happen here. The quality leaves the more Progressive Rock guitar solo sounding empty and horribly muffled, the bass does a little more for the mix but still sounds distant, as well as obliterates the overall crushing hopeless environment of the album, though the track didn't have much of one to begin with thanks to it's more upbeat musical approach with insanely simple power chords and matching drums with random Atheist-like technical bridges and transitions.
Much of the album seems like a bit of a watered down mixture of groovey Death Metal, more along the lines of straight Groove Metal like Meshuggah and more modern post-Max Cavalera Sepultura, but also some random technical-sounding guitar chords. Sometimes, like with "Divinity", you could hear traces of what seems like some later Death influence into the mix, but this is more towards the vocal approach. This is perhaps the easiest way to explain some of the tracks, such as "Salvation" and "Absolution". While all of this may not be the Pestilence of old, it shows the band approaching this new life in a different manner, and with it the group is starting to mature and try to find their own unique sound to it, which they manage to do throughout, like with the track "Deception". The band's more signature Death Metal sound does pop up in this song with a much heavier and more intense sound that captures a bit of a stronger Sepultura Groove influence without losing that vile, bleak atmosphere that the recording has. This is also where more of the band's Death Metal attitude comes back into play to create a non-stop intense audio assault on the listener.
So is it bad? No. Sure it's not the greatest effort by Pestilence, and the quality could have been a little deeper and richer, but this album essentially confirms that the band is looking to take the Pestilence name in a different direction. Sure sometimes the Groove Metal qualities of the music don't always work, but the overall atmosphere of the release, being that of hopeless and desperate music, vocals and situations appearing throughout still make it a great album. On top of that, you have heavy hitting tracks that will have you headbanging along like "Amgod" and "Deception". While there's more of a Sepultura Groove foundation to this album with the group's more common signature sound and approach vigorously applied, it makes for an energetic release that Metal fans will like, though anyone who dismissed the last album will only find more reasons to turn their back on this band.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Mascot Records
via Earsplit PR.
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