Pestilence
Consuming Impulse

If violence could have a name, it would be Old Pestilence.
As strange as it may seem to you, it's exactly like that!

After the killer debut of “Malleus Maleficarum” (can someone please tell me what “hammer of the witches” means?), the magnificent Italian-Dutch group tries again in 1989 with this “Consuming Impulse”, which is dangerously climbing up the rankings of my most violent records (along with Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Suffocation, and the like, even though they are all bands I started listening to relatively recently, as my battered hearing has only recently adapted to this type of sounds).

Raw, rotten, brutal.
These are the adjectives that best convey the idea of “Consuming Impulse”: original lineup, with Italians Patrick Mameli and Marco Foddis on guitar and drums respectively, a second Dutch guitarist, Patrick Uterwijk, light years away from the performances on “Testimony Of The Ancients” and especially “Spheres”, who in this CD is dealing with slides, single notes, and howls (his solos remind me a lot of the happy Crusader (crooked) combo of Cristo King/Hanneman) and, on vocals and bass, THE legend, Martin von Drunen (later with Asphyx), one of the meanest, darkest, and most bone-crushing growlers Death has ever known, who provides a truly terrifying growl.

“Four children making noise”, one might say: but it's not exactly like that. Indeed, the technical preparation, although far from that seen on the milestones “Testimony Of The Ancients” or “Spheres”, especially regarding the bass-second guitar rhythm section, is truly exceptional for 22-year-olds, who can count, indeed, on Mameli, absolutely exceptional and with impeccable technique, and a drummer out of the ordinary, Foddis, who shows surprising adaptability and equally valid creativity, especially in transitions.
Nothing too original (the influence of Morbid Angel but especially Slayer and Obituary is really felt), but in any case, a work truly worthy of note if you consider that this is the stepping stone to pivotal albums like the next two CDs, truly way too good.

The work is a mix of pure and very fast Thrash (“Dehydrated”, ”The Process Of Suffocation”) to typically Death parts (“The Trauma”, ”Chronic Infection”, ”Echoes Of Death”) to unexpected melodic openings, which refer and recall with the unmistakable Pestilence style to the next two masterpieces. Additionally, and this is perhaps the most important thing to note, the lyrics are not what one might expect, i.e., in the style of “Cut in half/Feel the warm blood trickling from your mouth” (Obituary) or “Swimming in guts” (early Death), but much more intelligent: ranging from the inevitable text dedicated to infectious diseases (“Chronic Infection”) to much more beautiful, engaged, and expressive texts, very close to the Death conception of “Human”, ”Individual”, ”Symbolic” and “TSOP”, like “The Process Of Suffocation”, which violently accuses the pollution that the human race produces (Smoke’s penetrating the atmosphere/Environment pollution, damage unmeasurable/Choking in the gas we self-produced/The more we breathe, the sooner we die/Why give a child his birth/When we are poisoning our Heart…Truly exceptional!!!!!!!).

In short, a very mature work for its genre, and musically very aggressive: it might not be appreciated, but the CD is a transition, a temporary exploration in the most extreme meanders that would soon lead to masterpieces (perhaps also due to von Drunen's departure and the entry of some of the most respected bassists on the Globe) like the highly acclaimed “Testimony Of The Ancients” and the fundamental, impeccable, and magnificent masterpiece “Spheres”.

In short, a fundamental step to understand the incredible musical-lyrical evolution accomplished by a band that, day after day, gets closer and closer to Death with the intention of contending for the throne of my favorite band.