ALBUM REVIEW: Corrupting Influence – Internal Bleeding

At this stage of their career, you pretty much know exactly what you’re going to get from Long Island slam aficionados INTERNAL BLEEDING. In fact, if you were to give that name to a random member of the public and ask them what the band sounded like, the unholy racket emanating from Corrupting Influence probably isn’t a million miles away from what they’d say.

Right from the off this record sounds like a lumbering beast, lurching from pummelling riffs to gut-wrenching growls straight from the depths of hell. This is quite simply music to bang your head to, with the death metal elements that make up the core of the record being harmoniously supported by a real groove that drives the album along.

Opening salvo Compelled to Consume dispenses with the frying pan altogether and throws you straight into the fire – crushing vocals taking centre stage amidst a backdrop of destructive drum passages and searing riffs. Title track Corrupting Influence follows a similar direction, again relying on some old-school riffing to elevate this above your standard, run of the mill death metal fare.

While the main body of this record does follow a rather similar pattern, there are glimpses of experimentation and nods to other genres that do not go unnoticed. The opening moments of Fatal Dependency for example combine MACHINE HEAD-esque guitars with a sludgy, hulking rhythm that would loosen even the strongest of bowels.

As you’d expect there are disgustingly glorious breakdowns galore on offer here; the finale of Focus in particular staking a good claim to provide the soundtrack to the apocalypse. Surrounded from the Inside soon excels in mixing up the tempo, with outbursts of pace scattered in amongst the heavier sections that helps to give the track an extra injection of adrenaline.

While the record is undeniably very well produced, there are moments where the rough edges help to give it a distinctly nineties feel, particularly evident on the menacing Unreality. As the album draws to a close it does start to drag slightly; Litany of Insincerity and Final Justice both following the blueprint of what’s come before without bringing anything new to the table, with the exception of an admittedly white-hot at the start of the penultimate track.

Ending on a high with The Supreme Sacrifice, a slab of metal that combines all of the best elements from the band’s repertoire, what is abundantly clear is that INTERNAL BLEEDING have succeeded in their attempts to once again lay waste to the ears of all those listening to their monstrous cacophony.

However, despite its flashes of quality, it’s fair to say that this isn’t the most unique record you’ll hear this year, and it’s hard to champion this ahead of some of the up and coming crop of younger bands making their mark on the metal landscape in 2018. That said, if you’re simply looking for a solid slice of slam with which to while away the hours and beat yourself over the head with, then you could certainly do a lot worse than this.

Rating: 7/10

Corrupting Influence is out now on Unique Leader Records.

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