Dying Fetus is one of the first Death Metal groups that I ever heard of besides Cannibal Corpse of
course. Despite this fact it was only within the last 18 months that I actually listened to them. Starting from “Killing on Adrenaline” I went through their discography and found a uneven mix of chugging break downs, misplaced technical death metal wankery, but no clear song writing prowess. Enter “Reign Supreme” an album that shows both song writing maturity and wider audience accessibility.
That isn’t to say that there isn’t technicality on their latest outing, its still here in spades. The important thing is that its toned down and presented with more moderation, creating a much more even experience. Not all of the tracks on this album are fantastic and sometimes the hardcore breakdowns are a bit over done but tracks like ‘Subjected to a beating’, ‘From womb to waste’, and ‘Devout Atrocity’ place them within the context of their respective songs with greater effectiveness. The production on the album is a little clean at times, and the drums could sound larger in the mix for my tastes, but over all I felt that the production went a long way to making sure that the flourishes of technicality were easier to appreciate by making individual notes clearer. Rougher production can lend a sense of brutality and grittiness to a death metal record but it can bury the clarity of the riffs at times. The vocals are standard guttural death metal fare and those used to the genre will find nothing new or unique here. The drumming is technical, tight, and provides a great deal of contrast to riff dynamics within each song.
Overall this album isn’t fantastic but has enough solid numbers to satisfy. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Fermata over Whole Rest 