ALBUM REVIEW: Genetically Engineered Monstrosity – Tortured
Bringing together a range of musicians who aren’t just in different countries, but in some cases completely different continents, TORTURED features arguably some of the best musicians within the underground brutal death metal scene. The fact that the four members, based in Spain, Russia, France and the United States, are even able to collaborate in the first place is incredible, but for their music to be so great is even more so. Establishing themselves with a fierce and punchy two song demo, The Limb Collector, in 2020, whatever they followed it up with was sure to be equally magnificent, and thankfully the band’s debut album Genetically Engineered Monstrosity delivers on that promise and then some, proving to be an incredibly lean and visceral outing.
Bathing In Pus is an intense start to proceedings, with tight drums, angular guitars and dense gutturals all creating a monolithic wall of noise that immediately grabs the listener’s attention, setting an acerbic and aggressive tone for what’s to come on the rest of the album. Raised By Punishment is equally rabid, with more energetic guitar and drum performances lending this a sense of urgency, counterpointed by thick slam hooks that add a solid groove into the mix and turn this into a far punchier offering.
Human Bait, a shorter but nonetheless impactful effort, proves to be a blisteringly fast and lean sounding piece of brutal death metal with a technical undercurrent, especially to the guitars, giving this a dizzying and unhinged sound that lurches from one punishing moment to the next, and making it far more engrossing as a result. Mushed Up, with its dramatic intro and darkly cinematic qualities, is another rabid number with some excellent rhythmic bursts underpinning the frenetic approach of the guitars and vocals. Genetically Engineered Monstrosity continues in a similar vein, with the crushing guitar work and bellicose vocals clashing and injecting a lot of the most visceral passages into this song, another bestial and belligerent chunk of full throttle death metal.
Barbaric Impalement is every bit as ferocious as its name implies, with nauseating guitar flourishes, machine gun precise drums and primal, rumbling vocals carving a harsher, speed-driven path than even some of the faster offerings that featured early on the record. It serves as one of the album’s most monstrous tracks, whilst still making room for lots of catchy guitar and bass work that makes this even more memorable. Boiled To Death, with its galloping tempo and grating guitars interlaced with slick melodic touches, is another high point for the album, having lots of character and again allowing the bass to come to the fore more prominently, turning this into a sludgy and magnificent song that really showcases the breadth of the musicianship on all fronts.
Devouring What’s Left Of You slows things to a relative crawl, with the more measured pace only making this sound even more intense, acting as another unbridled burst of brutality that leaves a mark, but in a much different way to the songs that preceded it. Gruesome Chastisement brings the album to a close in visceral fashion, with demented guitars, intricate drums and weighty vocals crafting a massive and extremely memorable slab of brutal death metal that brings things to a powerful head.
Genetically Engineered Monstrosity is an incredibly solid debut that, much like many debut records, shows tonnes of potential, although there are still a few minor wrinkles to iron out within the band’s sound, notably the fact that the bass often doesn’t get a look in in the mix, which is unfortunate, because when it can be heard it sounds fantastic and adds even more depth into the music. Like a lot of brutal death metal records, this tends to find its lane and stick within it, opting for rabid paces and frenetic energy, with a few slower moments thrown into the mix for good measure, and it would be great to hear this side of the band’s sound explored more fully in the future. Nonetheless, Genetically Engineered Monstrosity is an extremely good start for TORTURED, laying down some very solid foundations upon which to build their future records.
Rating: 7/10
Genetically Engineered Monstrosity is out now via Comatose Music.
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