Title: JUNGLE ROT - What Horrors Await
metal4life - April 7, 2009 07:35 PM (GMT)
JUNGLE ROT
What Horrors Await
Napalm 2009
I've come across the band Jungle Rot before but have never really paid much heed to their brand of musical debauchery, but I guess having to actually review their latest slab of sickness concentrates the mind somewhat and allows me to afford them a more careful listen. Jungle Rot are an interesting listen if you favour the likes of Six Feet Under and German soundalikes Debauchery. The first port of call is definitely the Chris Barnes led death crew. The vocalisings are very similar to Mr. Barnes' roars although a little clearer, as are the stomping thunderous riffs which ape SFU from every downstroke and drum thud.
I must mention the production which is abolutely ace. Crystal clear and sharp as a switchblade riffing with a crisp drum sound and huge vocals. After having engineered a killer sound, Jungle Rot need to stun the old school death freaks with songs that stay engraved in our collective skulls. Have they managed this? Well I think the answer is yes but with a number of slight reservations. These are only the preferences of each individual listener though. In general terms the band knows all about grooving and pounding away with pummeling midpaced riffing till the message is rammed home. Personally speaking, sometimes I find myself getting bored if a riff is repeated a little too often and at times Jungle Rot are perhaps guilty of this. Having said that they are quite good at pacing within the songs. For example Straightjacket Life is a really fast song in the main before the central breakdown riff and is a very dynamic and cool song.
The Unstoppable is perhaps one of the best SFU type songs ever written by someone other than SFU! The groove is super catchy and the vocal approach sounds so much like Barnes that you have to do a double take. The good thing is I find Jungle Rot's approach slightly more palatable than SFU's. The songs are that much more precise and cleaner. I always found SFU's slightly loose and lackadaisical style a touch annoying. Jungle Rot are also at times far speedier than SFU but within a certain song you can tell the next hammering midtempo groove riff is never far away no matter how fast they may be playing at any given point. This is again quite a good thing for me as it means you can enjoy the songs a bit more due to their more catchy and dynamic nature. Case in point being the song End of an Age which has fast parts and great groovy sections guaranteed to snap necks.
Speak the Truth is another one of these super catchy midpaced tracks before we reach the title track which actually has a slight hardcore flavour and sound like a metalised version of Agnostic Front. Normally I normally hate Hardcore, but the way Jungle Rot mix in corish riffs with stomping heavily distorted guitars is highly enjoyable. The song Braindead is extremely catchy and yet punishing with a death and roll type riff attack which just gets under your skin. Atrocity is a superb track and showcases a slightly more technical attack with the riffs being slightly more twisted and still very catchy. Perhaps my favourite track on the whole CD along with The Unstoppable and also Exit Wounds which plain old rocks me like a hurricane as the Scorpions once said.
I must admit I wasn't really expecting to like this album. My impression of the band was of a much rawer and filthier style of death metal, but they are pretty well polished actually and much more pallatable to my taste. Not to say that they are pussy cats or weak cause they sure ain't that. They have miles better production than I was expecting and I will be playing this one again in the future. A must for old schoolers into the sickness ala Six Feet Under and an album made for headbanging pure and simple.
:twisted :twisted :twisted :twisted / 4 out of 5
© Pirage Forsi
Buy @ Amazon
What Horrors Await
Napalm 2009
I've come across the band Jungle Rot before but have never really paid much heed to their brand of musical debauchery, but I guess having to actually review their latest slab of sickness concentrates the mind somewhat and allows me to afford them a more careful listen. Jungle Rot are an interesting listen if you favour the likes of Six Feet Under and German soundalikes Debauchery. The first port of call is definitely the Chris Barnes led death crew. The vocalisings are very similar to Mr. Barnes' roars although a little clearer, as are the stomping thunderous riffs which ape SFU from every downstroke and drum thud.
I must mention the production which is abolutely ace. Crystal clear and sharp as a switchblade riffing with a crisp drum sound and huge vocals. After having engineered a killer sound, Jungle Rot need to stun the old school death freaks with songs that stay engraved in our collective skulls. Have they managed this? Well I think the answer is yes but with a number of slight reservations. These are only the preferences of each individual listener though. In general terms the band knows all about grooving and pounding away with pummeling midpaced riffing till the message is rammed home. Personally speaking, sometimes I find myself getting bored if a riff is repeated a little too often and at times Jungle Rot are perhaps guilty of this. Having said that they are quite good at pacing within the songs. For example Straightjacket Life is a really fast song in the main before the central breakdown riff and is a very dynamic and cool song.
The Unstoppable is perhaps one of the best SFU type songs ever written by someone other than SFU! The groove is super catchy and the vocal approach sounds so much like Barnes that you have to do a double take. The good thing is I find Jungle Rot's approach slightly more palatable than SFU's. The songs are that much more precise and cleaner. I always found SFU's slightly loose and lackadaisical style a touch annoying. Jungle Rot are also at times far speedier than SFU but within a certain song you can tell the next hammering midtempo groove riff is never far away no matter how fast they may be playing at any given point. This is again quite a good thing for me as it means you can enjoy the songs a bit more due to their more catchy and dynamic nature. Case in point being the song End of an Age which has fast parts and great groovy sections guaranteed to snap necks.
Speak the Truth is another one of these super catchy midpaced tracks before we reach the title track which actually has a slight hardcore flavour and sound like a metalised version of Agnostic Front. Normally I normally hate Hardcore, but the way Jungle Rot mix in corish riffs with stomping heavily distorted guitars is highly enjoyable. The song Braindead is extremely catchy and yet punishing with a death and roll type riff attack which just gets under your skin. Atrocity is a superb track and showcases a slightly more technical attack with the riffs being slightly more twisted and still very catchy. Perhaps my favourite track on the whole CD along with The Unstoppable and also Exit Wounds which plain old rocks me like a hurricane as the Scorpions once said.
I must admit I wasn't really expecting to like this album. My impression of the band was of a much rawer and filthier style of death metal, but they are pretty well polished actually and much more pallatable to my taste. Not to say that they are pussy cats or weak cause they sure ain't that. They have miles better production than I was expecting and I will be playing this one again in the future. A must for old schoolers into the sickness ala Six Feet Under and an album made for headbanging pure and simple.
:twisted :twisted :twisted :twisted / 4 out of 5
© Pirage Forsi
Buy @ Amazon