Insidious Decrepancy
The Inerrancy Of Profanation

Strange thing, Insidious Decrepancy: a one-man band hailing from the lands of Texas. Strange because, while in Black Metal it’s common to set up a project alone, in Death Metal it’s quite unusual so much so that the "slimmest" bands are made up of at least two people (Goreopsy, Putrid Pile, Sikfuk, and the more famous Mortician). This Shawn Whitaker (anyone who can explain to me how to pronounce his last name will earn a pencil a meter and sixty centimeters long) instead wants to do everything by himself (avoid vulgar jokes, in the booklet he thanks a certain Melissa, calling her "love of my life") drawing inspiration from all the New York Brutal Death and partly Californian, seasoning it with some typical "fresh air" of Floridian Death. Strange thing, eh?

Having left behind a decidedly mediocre album and equally decidedly too anchored to the standards like "Decadent Orgy Of Atrocious Sufferings" (2002), our man returns in 2005 with this "The Inerrancy Of Profanation", signed under Unmatched Brutality: well, this disc is largely superior to the previous one and, for once, presents four new ideas that cannot fail to make a (truly) Homo Sapiens Brutallarensis happy.

Overlooking the great sophistication of the cover (which, however, at a strictly graphic level is a small masterpiece, obviously by Jon Zig), the length of the titles (immeasurable "Surreptitious Misanthropy Voraciously Consuming Rationality Thus Invoking Dormant Sociopathic Desires") and the themes dealt with (a bit of Satanism, much anti-Christianity, and a flood of blasphemies), I would say we could start talking about the musical proposition.

One of the tracks that struck me the most is precisely the opener "Befouling The Adoration Of Christ", perhaps the best on the CD along with "Festering Oral Infestation Of Parasitic Anomaly": it struck me because it is a song capable of starting like the classic Brutal Death song of the 21st century to then gradually go back in time and fetch none other than the cat-like guitar wails à la Chuck Schuldiner (much less technical but equally evocative). And here, some clarifications are needed. Shawn is not an exceptional guitarist, does not play bass impeccably, and does not have a remarkable voice in the world of Brutal Death, yet the whole is more than good. Why? Because this guy knows how to compose good pieces and although his technique is not the best, it is still appreciable considering he is a multi-instrumentalist. The guitar riffing, as I mentioned, may remind of the simpler things by Suffocation or Immolation, and generally consists of moderately complicated, very "closed" riffs performed strictly in Palm Mute. There is no lack of some rare, truly pleasant openings that manage to shift everything from the rigidity of the previous work: the bass work, as often happens, is aimed at cementing the Guitar Work and offers nothing special.

A particular mention goes to the drum programming: as a denigrator of electronic drums that I am, I can say this guy knows how to use it really well, of course, within the intrinsic limits of this instrument. The snare and toms sound a bit "fake," but the work done with the cymbals is truly exceptional. But there’s more; the fact that the drum machine eliminates the problem of execution difficulty allows Shawn to let loose with fairly unusual, dragging, and damn new tempos. Not just flat-out Blast Beats, then, but quite out-of-the-ordinary rhythms that reveal good compositional skills (this always considering that I am not sure this guy knows how to keep a normal four-four time). The songwriting is excellent; the songs are relatively light to follow, distinguishable from one another, and with a decidedly interesting mood. Even though it is always Brutal Death, in the notes of this "The Inerrancy Of Profanation" there is not only a river of hatred, there is also a palpable decay that will please the hearts of the more demanding fans.

Good performance, therefore, for this unusual musical project that, although it still has some evolutions to make, already shows it has what it takes for a bright future: a decidedly good album that can appeal to both old-school Death Metallers and more avant-garde ones, an album that expresses personality without overdoing it and above all offers something new without necessarily betting everything on technique (I’ll mention once again those showoffs, Spawn Of Possession). Bravo, excellence is not far away.