Alienation Mental
Ballspouter

By now, it's well-known that my reviews are Callimachean: they have a pronounced sense of the rare. Now please do not deconstruct this beautiful sentence and do not reveal that, actually, my taste for the rare translates to being unlucky like few in this world and thus needing a constant supply of equally “rare” music…

When I first heard these Alienation Mental, I thought it was yet another Brutal Death Californian band (Odious Mortem, Vile, Severed Savior…) perhaps the latest arrivals at Unique Leader Records; but no, the American label has nothing to do with it as these five (I believe) guys come from the old continent and, in particular, from a country that has recently proved to be particularly fertile for this genre, the Czech Republic (see also Fleshless, Reek Of Shits, Hypnos, Rabaroth, Disfigure Corpse, Godless Truth).
What misled me is the sound of this group, which is undoubtedly reminiscent of the Deeds Of Flesh school (pioneers of the West Coast Brutal Death) and therefore of the purest sonic fundamentalism. By the end of “Ballspouter,” you will instinctively ask yourself (if you liked it as much as I did) what is wrong with your (or our) head; this CD crushes, crushes hard, and does so in a way different from others.

Despite the work markedly deviating from the innovations of many other illustrious creations by equally illustrious colleagues (the usual Cephalic Carnage, Gorguts etc.), it presents itself as a last-generation Brutal Death album with the merit of excluding what are the main flaws and evils (“the merit of excluding flaws”… this is poetry, my friends!) that afflict extreme Metal at the start of this twenty-first century, first of all being that annoying growling bark that is so popular now. If you dust it all with some electronic inserts (quite discreet to be honest) and other assorted amenities (like an instrumental, “Children Of The South”, full of scratches, and a song, “Psychogenes”, with a typically Free Jazz outro) you will have an idea of what is found in this album.

Aside from the aforementioned cases, the offering is a heavily Brutal Death and far above average in extremism and technical level: the execution is not only perfect, as befits a band of serious people, but also reflects an uncommon talent in the compositional realm. An experienced listener, despite the low tunings and strong distortions, will be able to discern extremely complex guitar patterns, made of scales and chords that can be played, but more importantly written, only by musicians of the highest quality. Alongside intricate riffing, but not devoid of groove (as often happens with this type of CDs, especially with those by the American Disgorge), we find a frenzied drumming that even the best in the field could envy; indeed, the unknown guy behind the drums proves himself up to the great, indeed, greatest names of the Brutal Death scene, not only for speed but also for creativity.
Unrestrained in the fastest passages, rich in offbeats that even overturn the concept of offbeat, surgically precise when the drums need to step back to give space to other instruments, devastating in the slowdowns, when a distilled sonic violence ascends the throne: in short, together with the two guitarists, he is the backbone of the group. Good performance also by the singer who, however, doesn’t do much to make his name memorable; a canonical performance, well blended with the rest but certainly not very particular. The bassist, as often happens and as I often say (gosh, I’m such a poet today), is buried by the other instruments and can be said to “limit” himself to follow the guitars and, as much as this is no mean feat, remains decidedly below his counterparts in other bands.

The blame/credit goes to a mix perhaps not impeccable but that makes everything extremely dark and destructive, creating a mood of reasoned and violent pessimism that seems to somewhat recall the good old days of the New Yorkers Skinless (period “Foreshadowing Our Demise”). The ten-track total has an average duration of three or four minutes, which further highlights the effort of the five Czechs in producing their work; examples being the opener “The Restricted Cerebral Capacity,” in my opinion the best of the album, and the closing “Apocalyptic Visions Of The Future.”

Lately, few albums have caused a genuine addiction, and “Ballspouter” managed to do so; compliments go to Alienation Mental, who have been able to combine one of the best techniques and really good ideas, sealing it all with a non-farcical mood: let’s hope they continue this way.