Whether the purists like it or not, hardcore kids making death metal has breathed new life into what was in danger of becoming a stagnant genre. The fabulous work of the new wave of progressive tinged bands aside, the brand of meat and potatoes death metal peddled by people who only listen to the first GRAVE EP on repeat was in danger of sinking the ship. Thankfully, as with most things in life, it’s been made cool by hardcore. Part of a pack which includes VOMIT FORTH, SANGUISUGABOGG and SNUFFED ON SIGHT to name a few, 200 STAB WOUNDS are an incredibly exciting, dangerous and frankly bloody disgusting band.
Their last record, Slave To The Scalpel, was an addictive, blood and offal stained butcher’s slab of death metally goodness that owed as much to pre-2000s CANNIBAL CORPSE (albeit with a much better and more competent vocalist) as it did to bands with an appreciation for making sure that no fan leaves their show un-kicked-in-the-face. The DYING FETUS and SUFFOCATION influences were there for all to see, but it was clear that 200SW wanted to carve – if you’ll pardon the pun – their own niche in the genre. Three years later and with an album cover that would make German censorship boards take a day off and fan themselves in shock (seriously, it’s one of the grimmest pieces of art to grace the record of a band this big, relatively speaking, in years), they’re back with Manual Manic Procedures.
First track Hands Of Eternity opens not as you’d expect. It takes its time, with some wonderful melody and some TOMB MOLD-esque progressive strings finally giving way to a massive stomping groove. When it kicks in however, boy does it kick. This is death metal you can – nay, must – crowdkill to, with a mosh-part in here that surely violates the health and safety codes of venues across the world. The riffs are dangerous, inciting all sorts of emotions you’d normally keep well hidden as the grunts and shrieks of vocalist Steve Buhl – which have improved massively – fill your ears with vile obscenities you can barely understand.
One of the aspects of a great death metal album is making the listener as on edge as possible throughout. Whether that be from sheer violence or creating a sense of danger and unease, it’s one of the main attractions of the genre. The title track does the latter magnificently. Coming in just after the short but oh so sweet Gross Abuse – described by the band as a “Basic Death Metal torture song” – it opens on some drums, bass and some unsettling electronics that set the hairs on your arms up straight. What follows is one of the best tracks the band have ever written. Buzzing guitars and whirlwind drums create a destructive landscape before a solo that wouldn’t be out of place on a SLAYER record rips your face clean off – and presumably performs surgery on your exposed flesh afterwards – and things go very late 80s Florida up in the 200SW house, blending some classic thrash with a part reminiscent of MORBID ANGEL,
Led To The Chamber/Liquified is yet another track that will have you looking over your shoulder and walking with your keys between your fingers, such is its aura of menace. An instrumental with electronics running throughout, it could almost soundtrack the long, knowing march down a dimly lit corridor to your sadly inescapable vivisection, until the solo kicks in and you try to escape. Sadly, it only ends one way, and they win. You’re trapped, you’re helpless, your eyes barrelling back and forth but no respite awaits, only the long wait for the knife…you get the picture. It’s almost GNAW THEIR TONGUES in its approach.
Jami Morgan from CODE ORANGE makes a stellar appearance on the penultimate track Ride The Flatline, which is a contribution from bassist Ezra Cook written about the real life occurrence of a chemical spill following a train derailment. Morgan fits in well, adding some more hardcore edge to the track and his shrieking makes a fantastic counter to the grunts. The final track moves straight back into classic death metal gory fantasy, albeit it with a serious allegory. Parricide, lyrically is about blowing up a nursing home, yet deals with the almost sadistic, parasitic way that social care corporations treat their customers and users, bleeding them dry in the name of profit.
The crossover between hardcore and death metal has just seen its new monument, a landmark release that blends the two like few before it and should you pass up the chance to listen to 200 STAB WOUNDS now, you’ll be left in the dust as they begin to pave a new path for incredibly uncompromising, brutal music.
Rating: 9/10
Manual Manic Procedures is set for release on June 28th via Metal Blade Records.
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