Another new band to me, but in fact Chicago's Disinter have a long list of releases behind them. 'As We Burn' is the fourth full length bastard, with fucking well fitting title. Death metal is the name of the pain.

Disinter formed in early 1990s and it can be heard. This death metal inferno sounds both ancient and modern. Plus, the band put forward an ultra-tight performance, which is also very skilled. And they have crafted songs that throw a lot of hooks at a listener without suffering from the loss of brutality. Disinter's death doesn't sound only North American since there's influences from Scandinavian and Central European branches. Actually, if I didn't know where the band came from, I'd say they're from Europe. Why? Because a lot of stuff bring the name Vader into my mind. Chunky riffs and maelstrom-drumming isn't a million miles away from Polish masters' blast furnace. Slight melodic throws à la Centinex and such might make this more accessible, but not much, believe me. 'Dig Me no Grave' presents slower parts and closer some nice acoustics (the song isn't fully acoustic, but includes real shreding too). My only real complaint is that in Disinter do not sound truly unique and that's why no higher score. They sound no carbon copy either. Production's truly heavy yet balanced and every instrument is well audible.

The album's duration is only about 32 minutes. Of course this has as many beats as ten doom metal albums, so what the hell? In half an hour this gives a beating or two, but with this kind of variety in material it could have been longer, too. I can't squeeze more words out of myself, so if aforementioned bands and styles are your cup of tea, why not give 'As We Burn' a chance? Beats helluva lot of today's death metal releases, and also bands.

Rating: 7 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
06/24/2004 21:08