DISAVOWED

Following up its 2001 Unique Leader debut, "Perceptive Deception", brutal death metal band DISAVOWED return with an album in "Stagnated Existence" that mines familiar territory, but generally satisfies for being an album that gives fans of the style exactly what they want. It is a better than average release for the genre and the kind of album one would expect from a group that has spent time on Unique Leader and now finds its home on The Netherlands' Neurotic Records.

In evaluating the worth of "Stagnated Existence", what it all comes down to is whether technically accomplished (but not excessive) brutal death metal is your cup of tea. If it is, then there is no reason to discount this particular release. Comparison-wise, think in terms of older DYING FETUS and mid-period SUFFOCATION, sans the shredding solos. The production is crisp as hell and the riffing of Gerhen Van Der Bij and Daniel Van Der Broek flays flesh. The strength of the band is certainly the axe duo's ability to come up with some pretty damn good guitar arrangements. Vocalist Robbe K sports a semi-intelligible growl and drummer Romain Goulon brings a speedy and dexterous approach. Coupled with songwriting that allows for relatively distinct choruses (opening track "Biased Existence" is a perfect case in point),the album at least keeps from becoming boring. Though there is not a great deal of arrangement variation, the songs work fairly well because of the band's unwillingness to go overboard and ride out track lengths for very long.

If you're looking for a trailblazing effort, then stay far away from "Stagnated Existence". I've certainly heard better death metal releases, but that does not mean that devotees of the brutal stuff shouldn't at least check this one out. You definitely get what you pay for with a disc like this one. Just don't expect to be blown away. The thoughts that come to mind can be summed up as follows: "not too shabby."