Symphony of Decay |Twilight, 2010|

01. The Boogeyman, 02. Night Stalker, 03. Carnage In The Streets of L.A., 04. Zodiac, 05. Secret Graveyard In The Garden, 06. House of Wüstefeld, 07. The Cauldron of The Human Flesh, 08. Overkill 666, 09. 33 Knife Thrust For A Satanic Crime, 10. My Mother Is A Whore, 11. The Devil Inside, 12. How To Become A Killer With A Granny Dress, 13. Bloody Ice Scream, 14. Symphony of Decay, 15. The Boogeyman Remix (From Skrew), 16. Carnage Remix (From Mushroomhead / Ventana)

It seems that the newest French production of Obszön Geschöpf has been the heaviest music reviewed by Fabryka Magazine so far. Although, I would have to say it surpassed November 17 in a surprising manner which was even shocking to me. Remzi Kelleci and the rest of the Obszön Geschöpf line-up took a step towards black metal music (compared to their previous releases), mixing it with industrial metal this time. The final result sounds rather extreme.

There are sixteen songs on the newest album and the last two songs are remixes. Symphony of Decay begins with an acoustic guitar riff leading into The Boogeyman first, while Remzi's vocals are reminiscent of an old wild man mumbling until the vocals turn into demonic screams. The song is based on vocals mainly, with repetitive guitar riffs accenting either the drums or a drum machine.

Night Stalker sounds like one of those black metal productions where it's rather difficult to recognize what the lead singer screams about. However, it seems music fans have no problem understanding lyrics in such a manner at all, as well as decrypting band name logotypes hidden in thorns, symbols and curlicues. Night Stalker is characterized by a solid tempo and sharp guitar riffs, but the background seems to be a bit empty and I really find myself missing audible bass lines in its production value.

Carnage In The Streets of L.A. Was kept along the lines of similar moods. There's also a colder and more electronic song called Zodiac which doesn't lack a metal vibe thanks to the vocals and guitars. It's one of the most interesting songs on the album to me.

A following short suite called Secret Graveyard In The Garden gives me thoughts of black and white horror movies from the 1930's, with an image of dead body being unburied from a backyard cemetery.

It's quite easy to remember a leitmotiv of House of Wüstefeld, meaning that all those trip-hop samples contrast the content of the song which actually has little in common with this style of music since it is based on heavy guitar riffs, a bit of electronics and growled vocals.

I had deja-vu when I heard the guitar riffs in The Cauldron of The Human Flesh, but I couldn't recall where I'd heard them before or perhaps there were some industrial metal standards used. Obszön Geschöpf added black metal atmospheres to the riffs as well as dynamic tempos, similar to the music of Skrew at best. This is what eventually made the song memorable.

Black metal music also dominates tracks like Overkill 666, Knife Thrust For A Satanic Crime and Bloody Ice Scream. Other than that, My Mother Is A Whore and The Devil Inside present the best of industrial metal, underlining the musical influence of Ministry thanks to the sampling, guitars and general arrangements the songs contain.

When it comes to Symphony of Decay, it was a good choice to make it the title song for the album because it clearly stands out above all the other tracks. Dynamic tempos, guitar riffs cut short and samples coming from some movies build a solidly arranged song structure.

I hope every industrial metal fan knows who Adam Grossman is because his band Skrew has been as important as Ministry for the proper recognition of this genre. However, being used to Adam's heavy riffs (who didn't get stuck with covering and remixing as a few burnt out musicians of the same scene have been doing for years now), you may have a weird feeling listening to the remix he provided for the Symphony of Decay album. The remix brings a drum'n'bass sound in which f.e. or Acumen Nation has been better known for. There's a lot of electronics used as well, but the main motif of the original song was saved.

The other remix was created by Richard Thomas (from Mushroomhead and Ventana) who also used some Breakcore inspirations.

I would recommend this album to the fans of black metal music first; those who get bored listening to the same arrangements and who are looking forward to something fresher, without changing their music orientation that much. I don't listen to black metal music often, although I cannot describe Obszön Geschöpf with any precursors of the new metal genre who uses both black metal and sampling influences because I do not have enough knowledge about that subculture. Time will tell if the fans of black metal are drawn to it.

Secondly, this album should empower industrial metal fans as well as... misogynists ;) Screaming women asking for mercy play such a main role on this album. Beginning from the artwork where the zombies wearing suits eviscerate a bunch of theater divas (deprived of their limbs already!), to some old thriller movie samples used to lace certain songs on the album.

(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz, 27/10/2010. Proofreading: Scott M. Owens. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)