Surely not "most painful" death metal, this, Dutch Mangled's second full length album. Definitely not the most brutal stuff out there, but still brutal enough for those who seek heavy stuff with twisting compositions.

Chugging tempos heavily remind me of Dutch legends Sinister, which is more than obvious straight from the start, as 'Hate' both rips and blasts from the speakers. At times, Mangled sound like downtuned Cannibal Corpse, thanks to that vibrating "bowels movement" riffage. The music's pace varies from blast beats to slow tempos, but majority of the material stays in the middle ground. Which is good, because I think it's the most powerful way to express this kind of heavy stuff. Mangled haven't penned very catchy stuff, meaning compositions-wise, but it needs some patience from a listener.

'Mortifying Body Parts' is one of the highlights, and happens to sound very much like Sinister. 'Evil Terrestrial's juggernaut style approach surely sinks to those who love Bolt Thrower, and it features a doom-paced part, too. 'Warfare Embowelment' is another standout song, even though not very far from Cannibal Corpse's 'The Bleeding' (1994) album stuff, which by the way happens to be my favourite album from those Yankees. 'Hellrose Place' is a fast deathgrinder, that just goes in a blink of an eye. I think Mangled never strived for unique death metal, but did stuff they loved. No fucking trends here, sadly just very similar material,which is the albums only true weakness, even though not a huge one.

Performance is quite basic through out the album. Drums are nice, maybe because cymbals and hi-hats stick out so clearly from otherwise heavy and deep soundscape. And I love those heavy double kick drum parts! Guitars and bass are truly grinding and there are no solos. Vocals are mainly low growling. Some growled shrieks (?!) can be heard, adding some variety to otherwise samey vocals. Lyrical themes are mostly light gore (yeah, not very brutal or expository) with some mocking of modern societies' crap (religions, trends), but they aren't written too well. Cover is a piece of modern computer art, but doesn't catch the eyes or shock any minds.

Mangled have created an album, that is like a heavy juggernaut on loose. This should satisfy any appetite for heavy death metal, at least for a big part. Compositions-wise this is a double-edged sword, but still it more cuts than does not.

Rating: 7 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
11/22/2011 23:47