Inherit Disease
Procreating An Apocalypse

Ladies and gentlemen (hopefully more gentlemen), here is one of the most talked-about albums in the Brutal Death microcosm of last year. Why?

The social mechanisms of Brutal Death are mysterious, though they usually have a clear logic; for example, Inherit Disease might have played up to ninety percent of the currently influential bands in Brutal Death and thus garnered acclaim, or they might have paid Unique Leader Records a fortune for endless publicity. The fact remains that if we take the booklets of ten Brutal albums from 2004 to 2007, in each one you'll find a thank you to Inherit Disease. Why?

My answer is "I don't know!"

You may be wondering why I had to make this long preamble about the behaviors of the (miserably) Wise Brutallarensis Homines; because without going to California to Inherit Disease, I see the same dynamics here in our little Italy, in my microscopic Piedmont.

And this, to be clear, does not detract from the overall value of the work; I just think it's right to point out that in the world many equally valid bands of the same genre are skipped over while others are praised to the skies by the label of the moment simply because they have better managed their Public Relations (even Brutal is consumed by Imperialism).

Apart from my communist-like reflections on what is right and what is wrong (I like to degrade the communist philosophy to discuss Brutal), the fact remains that people like Inherit Disease. And Inherit Disease make themselves known.

I have not yet analyzed statistical studies, but I believe that every day in California as many Brutal bands are born as children are here in Italy; considering that a Brutal band has at least three members, three times as many children (um, no, Brutallari) are born in California as in Italy. The reasoning might not entirely add up, but that's not important right now. What matters is that all groups from that area are born and grow under the aegis of Deeds Of Flesh; Vile, Odious Mortem, Decrepit Birth, Disgorge (less than the others), and many others are empirical proof of what I am saying. All signed by Unique Leader, all linked to the Californian sound founded in the past decade precisely by the trio from Los Osos.

Inherit Disease have characteristics identical to their colleagues: they become famous with their first release (like all those I mentioned above), they produce a good Brutal Death album, they don't invent anything new.

The sound offered is the intersection of the Californian, New York schools, and Slam. Moral of the story? That chimera Brutal that people love so much these days is starting to bore me a little: it's the Brutal of those who don't want to reduce themselves to pure Slam and be labeled as hicks (Enmity, Devourment, Brodequin, and a bunch of other bands) but also do not want to become champions of a personal sound. The resulting songs are well-composed: some have interesting riffs ("Apostasy Of Unknowing", "Procreating An Apocalypse", "Perpetual Animosity"), while others are weaker and, although still of good quality, stink of Filler (i.e., songs composed without much effort just to extend the overall duration). Some guitar passages reminded me a lot of early-period Skinless, which I admit I liked a lot; but precisely because some ideas are commendable, it becomes all the more noticeable how clumsily those ideas are exploited. In other words, they might be known, but you can tell this is their debut. The drummer provides a good performance but seems like a wind-up toy: very precise blasts but few time changes make the rhythm section quite boring, not to mention that those who know the genre will be biting their hands thinking about what a more imaginative drummer could have delivered.

The singer, on the other hand, has a fairly personal style; his lasting growl is as deep and garbled as few others, and he occasionally launches into accelerations that few others would be able to pull off. The production is exceptional, finally able to highlight all the instruments (including bass) without sounding "rubbery." The mood isn't bad either, and some songs convey exactly that sense of deafening destruction and mistrust in humankind that permeates the song lyrics. Stories of human squalor.

If it wasn't clear, the album shows ups and downs: parts that begin to engage deeply, even emotionally, are abruptly cut off or followed by other insipid and inappropriate ones. Considering they are newcomers, it's not a big deal, but then I don't see why they are so highly praised; overall, the album is good, but the numerous ideas it contains are poorly used.

And what is serious is that the premature success that has fallen on them will surely not stimulate them to do better; they will probably, rightly, think that continuing on this line will take them straight into the hearts of fans and leave their potential unused. The score would be a three and a half, but I feel like rounding it down (today, I'm more Brutal than Inherit Disease).