Pathology
Awaken To the Suffering ()
Wydane przez Victory RecordsRok wydania Kraj USANapisał Wouter6
For the longest time San Diego, California death metal act Pathology has existed as a side-project to two fairly prominent regional outfits, namely Cattle Decapitation and Disgorge. Over the last years the band underwent a radical line-up shift (with only drummer Dave Astor and guitarist Tim Tiszczenko as only constants) and now seems to have grown into an entity all its own. “Awaken To the Suffering” is the band’s second record for (once hardcore specialist) label Victory Records and while musically not too much has changed, lyrically the band now tackle more socio-political subjects. While their first two records consisted entirely of bludgeoning, US death metal in the vein of Disgorge, Brodequin and the likes – the preceding record (2010’s “Legacy Of the Ancients”, also on Victory Records) displayed Pathology widening their style and flexing their compositional muscle a tiny bit. Compared to earlier outings this new slab of brutality is more fully conceptually realized and the music itself is also far more diverse than Pathology has ever sounded. Where their earlier records were rather mundane exercises in monotoneous blasting, here actual songs can be found and much of the directionless and senseless brutality has been replaced by well-thought out compositions that stick with the listener. Despite these improvements and cosmetic changes Pathology remains nothing but a third-tier death metal act in a scene flooded with far more gifted outfits. Overall the changes are laudable, but considering this band’s questionable past and recording history any progress, however insignificant, is dearly appreciated.
www.victoryrecords.com
