Born Undead – Violator of Humanity

Death metal is truly some twisted stuff. The old-school stuff from the 80’s and early 90’s is always fun because of its horror-movie-esque approach, but it seems like some of the newer bands have really amped things up in terms of ridiculousness. Among them is Born Undead, an international (UK/France) project that provides absolutely putrid sounding death metal. Their first release, “Violator of Humanity”, while not quite brutal death metal (it is a lot less one-dimensional than brutal death metal), is definitely on that side of the subgenre. Surprisingly though, Born Undead injects catchiness and memorability into their music. The title track of this release has a repeated vocal pattern that is the kind of thing you can growl along to (in the same way that you’d sing along to Morbid Angel, for example). The end of this song shows the band taking a different direction, with some twisted harmonized guitars. Though a bit of a sharp turn at first, this section settles in nicely, showing homage to Autopsy, with its creepy, cemetery-like atmosphere.

The other songs are more in the brutal death metal vein. Blast beats are used more often, the grunting seems to be lower and less decipherable, and the emphasis is on crushing the listener under the weight of the music. The band’s emphasis on melody is not entirely lost though; “Revenge of the Necrovore” and "Undead Torment" both feature guitar solos amidst the carnage that the rest of the track causes. With that said, much of the band’s time is spent in more pummeling fashion. Born Undead is definitely more bearable within this style. Not only because of the aforementioned unique elements, but also because they lack a tinny production and constant snare drum abuse. Monotony is inherent to brutal death metal, which is why a band like Born Undead succeeds by bringing in new components to the style. Ultimately, “Violator of Humanity” is certainly a step above most brutal death metal because of the variety is provides.

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Highlights

"Violator of Humanity"

Final Rating

3.5/5 or 70%. 

Written by Scott