Rough Edge: Avulsed CD Reviews

AVULSED

"Nullo" (Ibex Moon; 2009)

Spanish gore merchants Avulsed are back with ?Nullo (The Pleasure of Self-Mutilation).? ?Nullo? is the band?s fifth proper full-length album. I was duly impressed by ?Goresplattered Suicide? back in 2005 yet I never did hear the band?s 2007 release ?Reanimations.? I don?t think it really matters as Avulsed have a consistent sound as exemplified by their dedication to their particular brand of splattered, grinding death metal.

?Nullo? features eleven tracks of straightforward death metal. The intensity of the performances on ?Nullo? are downright ferocious. While this is an obviously perfect approach for a death metal band Avulsed take it a step further with lockstep performances, varied tempos, and thoughtful solos. The North American release of ?Nullo? features additional bonus tracks ranging from re-recordings to covers like W.A.S.P.?s ?I Wanna Be Somebody.?

?Nullo? was produced by Javier Fernandez. ?Nullo,? just like ?Goresplattered Suicide,? is a testament to the fact that good production and death metal need not be an oxymoron.

Avulsed is Dave Rotten on vocals, Cabra and Juancar on guitars, Tana on bass, and Riky on drums. The band?s consistent line-up through recent years is reflected in the strong, tight performances on ?Nullo ? The Pleasure of Self-Mutilation.?

For more information visit http://www.avulsed.com/.

"Gorespattered Suicide" (Metal Age; 2005)

Reviewed by Christopher J. Kelter

I am certain my first introduction to Avulsed was their 1999 album ?Stabwound Orgasm.? And to think I never actually heard the band and only saw the ?Stabwound Orgasm? cover artwork; I haven?t really forgotten that moment to this day. This means I made some assumptions about how Avulsed actually sounded ? I was prone to doing stupid things like that back then. It goes without saying that I wasn?t particularly fond of brutal death metal in my early days as a Rough Edge writer. I always found the brutal death metal sound to be extraordinarily limiting ? and the genre lacked diversity and just simply didn?t catch my fancy.

Fast-forward a half-decade and the artwork for ?Gorespattered Suicide? does nothing but confirm my suspicions of Avulsed as gore death metal purveyors ? not that there?s anything wrong with that (at least I realize that now). But once the music is pouring through the speakers I was forced to pay attention.

I don?t know how ?Gorespattered Suicide? compares to the band?s previous albums, but this new disc is catchy, groovy, and extremely well performed. I?m actually impressed by what I hear as Avulsed deftly move between typically aggressive brutal death passages and more mid-paced, groove oriented passages. On a couple of tracks Avulsed utilize keyboards for added effect which was completely unexpected. ?Gorespattered Suicide? has nine full tracks of brutal death, but Avulsed still find it worthy to throw in an instrumental, a cover song, and a nice and tidy brief turn at grindcore for the sake of humor (or they could be totally serious for all I know).

While my appetite for death metal can exhaust itself pretty quickly ?Gorespattered Suicide? kept me interested for a long while ? and that?s saying something. I can just as easily dismiss a brutal death metal album forever after I?ve reviewed it for the Rough Edge pages, but I?ll be returning to Avulsed?s ?Gorespattered Suicide? for diversity in my listening experiences.

?Gorespatteredsuicide? was produced, mixed, and mastered by Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel). The disc features top notch sound and clarity not often heard on brutal death metal albums ? which may upset some stalwart fans of the genre.

Avulsed is Dave Rotten on vocals, Cabra and Juancar on guitars, Tana on bass, and Riky on drums.

For more information visit http://www.avulsed.com.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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