This band is the exact reason why quantifying the quality of an album into a specific metric system is problematic in Metal. When it comes to Metal, there are many things people expect from it. Due to the fact the music was never meant to be easy listening, the desire of most listeners is to get something more extreme, progressive and innovative.
This also includes the fact that because the platform has never been mainstream, everyone looks into the underground and everybody has a shot at "making it." The problem then becomes a perception of over-saturation on the part of the listener. But what happens when a sub genre, like Brutal Death Metal has been into positions so extreme that records that are actually pushing he limits come so rare. Do we judge it according to what it has pushed for or do we judge it within the confines of the art?
In Soviet Russia, post apocalypse wasteland survives you
7.H. Target is a Russian Brutal Death Metal bands that does their art well, but stays within the confines of what a person would think is Brutal Death Metal. I have no idea what the band name means but it honestly sounds like a sci-fi Michael Bay movie with more explosions that the transformers series.
What set this band apart from the others though is the theme that they carry. The band sings about Japanese Horror/Gore B-Movies. Just like their subject matter, the movies aren't anything progressive, they try to push their "extremity" to levels of torture porn. The movies are also not the hot topic of cinephiles, but they do have their appeal in circles that actively seek for those kind of films. The same could be said about this band's music.
You already have to be seeking for music within the constraints of Death Metal like this to begin with. Whats interesting also is that rather than taking the typical Western styled B-Movie gore but the band takes the sci-fi touch and use Japanese B-Movie films as the image instead. At least that's a breath of fresh air from the regular slasher, American gore used by the many other bands. Glad to see death Metal isn't staying with one aesthetic over and over again.
Music wise though, the band mixes high speed Death Metal double bass and not-so technical riffs. The combination of slams and the utilization of break downs where appropriate comes served alongside with very low gurgles with almost like pig squeals. Like most Brutal Death Metal bands, structure is thrown out of the window in favor of machine gun drumming, blast beats appearing in between slam breakdowns and the occasional dissonant riffing. The frantic change of tempo from one another feels like a sense of controlled chaos.
Frantic enough to keep away from monotony, but structured enough to be memorable. None of the tracks over-stay it's welcome so not even the slams are dragged too long. You won't hear a continuous break down through out the songs but you'll hear a band showing all the techniques they picked up from various metal bands. As slams build up, then machine gun drumming come over and tear up your face.
Once in a while, weird leads that sounds like guitar exercises are used in placed of riffs with the bass still focused on the e-string. Now keep in mind though, there isn't much guitar noodling in placed. It has certain sci-fi feel at times, like a gargantuan monolithic machine rampaging through a city, with all the guitar effects in place, dubbed as the sounds of the buttons involved.
This is also heavily emphasized through the sampling that creates that atmosphere as if you're watching Tokyo Gore Police, chuckling with your friends in your dimly lit living room. All in all, what can be said about the music is that it is you standard BDM affair without much variation but done well. It has all the cliches of BDM but nothing that is ear-gratingly horrible. In fact, if this were done in BDM's heyday, it would've gotten more praise than now.
What set this band apart from the others though is the theme that they carry. The band sings about Japanese Horror/Gore B-Movies. Just like their subject matter, the movies aren't anything progressive, they try to push their "extremity" to levels of torture porn. The movies are also not the hot topic of cinephiles, but they do have their appeal in circles that actively seek for those kind of films. The same could be said about this band's music.
You already have to be seeking for music within the constraints of Death Metal like this to begin with. Whats interesting also is that rather than taking the typical Western styled B-Movie gore but the band takes the sci-fi touch and use Japanese B-Movie films as the image instead. At least that's a breath of fresh air from the regular slasher, American gore used by the many other bands. Glad to see death Metal isn't staying with one aesthetic over and over again.
Music wise though, the band mixes high speed Death Metal double bass and not-so technical riffs. The combination of slams and the utilization of break downs where appropriate comes served alongside with very low gurgles with almost like pig squeals. Like most Brutal Death Metal bands, structure is thrown out of the window in favor of machine gun drumming, blast beats appearing in between slam breakdowns and the occasional dissonant riffing. The frantic change of tempo from one another feels like a sense of controlled chaos.
Frantic enough to keep away from monotony, but structured enough to be memorable. None of the tracks over-stay it's welcome so not even the slams are dragged too long. You won't hear a continuous break down through out the songs but you'll hear a band showing all the techniques they picked up from various metal bands. As slams build up, then machine gun drumming come over and tear up your face.
Once in a while, weird leads that sounds like guitar exercises are used in placed of riffs with the bass still focused on the e-string. Now keep in mind though, there isn't much guitar noodling in placed. It has certain sci-fi feel at times, like a gargantuan monolithic machine rampaging through a city, with all the guitar effects in place, dubbed as the sounds of the buttons involved.
This is also heavily emphasized through the sampling that creates that atmosphere as if you're watching Tokyo Gore Police, chuckling with your friends in your dimly lit living room. All in all, what can be said about the music is that it is you standard BDM affair without much variation but done well. It has all the cliches of BDM but nothing that is ear-gratingly horrible. In fact, if this were done in BDM's heyday, it would've gotten more praise than now.
BEEP BEEP Richie! They ALL float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too!
The resulting concoction couldn't be judged with the typical metric system we are so used to judge bands. It all depends on what you are looking for. You don't go watch Ichi the Killer and expect The Goodfellas. They both are in different categories and shouldn't be measured with the same scale.
Those who look for Brutal, face hurting punches will definitely enjoy this while some who are looking for another push in the progressiveness in Metal will have to look somewhere else and may very well rate this album lower. In essence, creating art within a limited medium and succeeding.
Sick artwork from the band. The Japanese influence from the Russians just oozes here.
Like DVDs of Japanese Horror/Gore movies, you'll watch them with your friends on the weekends. If your friends are the group of people that watches B-films, you'll probably talk about it for quite sometime.
The same with this band. If the band comes over town, you might go and watch them. But this isn't going to convert anyone into BDM. In this no-nonsense Japanese B-Movie horror/gore/sci-fi influenced Russian BDM band, they'd probably infect you, rather than converting you.
This is Brutal Death Metal, made for those asking for Brutal Death Metal.
The same with this band. If the band comes over town, you might go and watch them. But this isn't going to convert anyone into BDM. In this no-nonsense Japanese B-Movie horror/gore/sci-fi influenced Russian BDM band, they'd probably infect you, rather than converting you.
This is Brutal Death Metal, made for those asking for Brutal Death Metal.
Terence A. Anthony commutes between Kuala Lumpur and Kuching. Co-Founder of Aural Chaos. He also writes for Greater Malaysia and Opinions Unleashed.