Criminal Element
Guilty As Charged

Even the world of Death Metal and Grindcore has its supergroups, the so-called All Stars bands, and Criminal Element is one of them. They are among the most successful thanks to the experience of its members, who originate from some of the finest extreme metal groups: Dying Fetus, Suffocation, Misery Index, and others.

Founded in 2001, after some lineup changes and two EPs in 2006 (a sort of appetizer), Criminal Element convincingly released their first full-length album in 2008. It is a solid fusion of the attitudes and sounds of the original bands, supported by a powerful yet very clear production that allows the devastating rhythmic section to stand out (the Boyer-Jarvis pair, hailing from Suffocation and Misery Index respectively), the claustrophobic and intense riffing, and the violent vocal parts halfway between hardcore and typical death metal growl, entrusted to Vince Matthews.

Thus, Criminal Element kick us in the teeth with more aggressive death-grind tracks like the opener "Blood Money", "Snitch Bitch Homicide" (which also reflects some thrash metal influences in the guitar work), or the lethal "Murder One" and "Future Felon", yet also stand out with pieces more oriented towards Hardcore like "Shots Fired", the title track with a Napalm Death feel, and especially "Smash and Grab", whose initial riff wouldn't look out of place on an Hatebreed album. The execution is impeccable and precise, as demonstrated by the more technical plots of pieces like "Unjust Incarceration", the intricate and pressing drumming of "Habitual Offender", and the concluding "Suicide By Cop" (which among other things features a final part, more or less the last two minutes, characterized by the dirtiest and heaviest groove) that makes us feel how Slayer would sound if they suddenly started to delve into death-grind.

There are also two covers: the first is "Pounding Metal" by the historic Exciter, the second is "Angry Neurotic Catholic" by Carnivore. In the first one, it's striking to hear Criminal Element play so "slow" and cadenced after hammering us at a thousand miles per hour for the previous ten tracks, and it is indeed the less successful of the two, with our band feeling much more at ease with the crazy thrashcore of Peter Steele's first band.

Sure, originality is close to zero, but this is Extreme Metal, and for me, Extreme Metal is divided between those who play it with passion and those who mimic the greats without shedding blood in the studio and on stage. Criminal Element, though formed by members of "already arrived" bands, continue to shed their blood (and make us shed ours) and deserve to be in the first rank. I am looking forward to a follow-up.