Beginning with wicked death metal similar to magnificent 1991 classic 'Testimony of the Ancients' by Pestilence and Sinister's 1995 album 'Hate', I was immediately pleased. 'Fractal' by, not Dutch like those influences might hint, but Italian deathers Humangled, was off with a good start then.

'Fruits of Abdomen', the song in question, is mid-paced, chugging and ominous (thanks to the lead guitar work). And definitely nothing modern! It is catchy and a tight package of late 1988s / early 1990s worship. But then it fucking crashes: 'From Empty Sockets' is an abomination, in a wrong way, of bad timing and sloppy playing. Whereas the first song has a steady and pushing tempo, this second one presents the band's predilection to more peculiar tempos. The timing must be solid if weirder beats and tempo changes are utilized. Even some okay riffs do not help in a situation like this. And it does continue... Only by adding some discordant guitars on 'Infinitesimal'. I guess the term avant-garde comes to my mind.

The band goes to create some rather unique death metal right here, but it doesn't sound like Pestilence or Sinister after the opener anymore so the ominous atmosphere is gone, and the timing problem is absolutely insurmountable. It sounds very haphazard at worst, and the band's quirkiness ends up being a huge hindrance; it's a rare expertise to make something odd work. For me, this is almost unlistenable after the good opener, which is a straight piece. Afterwards it is just a big mess of different parts: It's as if they thought that putting incompatible pieces together was a way to succeed. Yes, the songs also became devoid of any catchiness. And another thing: Some guitar riffs are annoying or simply crap. And so are the solos, except that (guitar) synth one ('Spheres', anyone?!?!) and the closer's Chuck Schuldiner (Death) worship... The flapping bass is audible in the mix, and is its own entity, making the musical puzzle even stranger or incoherent.

The vocal performance is good. It is all growled, but in varying ways. There's low gurgle in vein of Ross Dolan, and more high pitched voice quite like Carcass' Jeff Walker. This is definitely the best achievement by Humangled on 'Fractal'. Unlike the drums. There's double kick drumming and blast beating happening, but it is never well played or technical. And utilizing different guitar effects does not hide poor skills.

Nice cover art versus black and white photo of a graveyard during winter... Yeah, just as incoherent choice as the majority of the musical pieces here. I know I tried, but to no avail. Is it avant-garde or is it just very badly composed music? I really do not care, because for me it is unlistenable.

Rating: 3½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
05/04/2019 15:44