SEX MURDER ART: Welcome to the Colombian Slam Family
The Slamming Death-Metal scene is a global business, with bands, artists and labels popping up all over the planet. Thanks to bands such as; Murder Pussy and Sex Murder Art the Colombian extreme scene has earned it's place on the Death-Metal map and not necessarily for all the right reasons. Unlike their contemporaries, Sex Murder Art have been making good strides in terms of popularity fueled by their 2 notable releases, the 2015 full length album End Of Existence, and an expanded reworking of their debut EP, The Human Sickness. Both releases contain an equal measure of brutal originality and generic boredom. However, despite the repetitive and base nature of Slam, there are elements of the Colombian newcomers music which are rather enjoyable and pleasing to the ear, standing out in a scene which is stagnating more and more with every passing copy-cat release.
When it comes to Brutal Slamming Death-Metal, you pretty much know exactly what you are going to be subjected to before you get so much as a whiff of the music itself. Slide riffs, brown-noise levels of distortion, blastbeats, gutturals, vocalised frog impressions and samples. If these elements are what you want, then you are in luck, as both The Human Sickness and End Of Existence have it in spades. What is slightly respectable, is that in comparison to a large percentage of Brutal Slam bands, Sex Murder Art have largely avoided the completely unimpressive and unnecessary sexualisation and misogynistic approaches to their releases, instead favouring the overused and unoriginal themes of torture, violence and death. Between them; Cannibal Corpse, Carcass, Kraanium and Cephalotripsy have covered the aesthetic and lyrical themes, the styles and approaches to extreme music countless times before and done it better than Sex Murder Art and most, if not all rising stars of the Slam world ever could, so what makes Sex Murder Art any different? Why should we even care if it has all been do so many times before? The answer, it all comes down to the music.
Debut full-length album, End Of Existence is an interesting release, not only for the 7 original tracks but also the inclusion of not only demo versions, but also live material, something not commonplace in the Slam and Brutal Death-Metal world. Opening with a horrifyingly gory sample which drags on for a cruel 75 seconds, the first of many to come, "Kill My Enemies" moves in like a visceral cloud of fuzzy buzzing Slammage. The full throttle assault of thick chugging Slams, rumbling low end bass and Katalepsy style aggression is worthy of praise. This opening track is not just heavy, but it is also the standout moment on the album.
Perplexingly, there is a noticeable decrease in audio quality and volume between the opening track and "Incinerating The False Prophets", which is constant throughout the remainder of the album. In comparison to the previous track, "Incinerating The False Prophets" is far slower and less impacting, with a far more generic sound which is hindered by the decrease in production quality. The title track "End Of Existence", is another generic dud moment, characterised by annoying tapping drums and scratchy riffs which are largely obscured by the screen of shattering symbols and blastbeats.
The gut wrenching samples again dominate the introduction to "Art Of Torture", an otherwise satisfying Slam staple containing some at least enjoyable stomping rhythmic slide riffs and admirable vocals. By this point in the album, the repetitive nature of the music sets in, making it difficult to really distinguish one track from the other. If you are a fan of primitive Slam and are not seeking diversity or distinctive moments then End Of Existence is the album for you. That said, the demo tracks featured on the album are actually better in terms of sound quality and sheer heaviness than some of the original album tracks. The live recordings are also worth mentioning and not only for the novelty, as these tracks show a promising band playing their own original material in a live setting with solid and cohesive musicianship.
In comparison to End Of Existence, The Human Sickness is a far better and more rounded release. In keeping with the trend set on the first album, The Human Sickness is plagued by samples, which at times make you feel as though you are listening to a terrible low budget horror film. With far cleaner and consistent production, "Necrophiliac" is a sluggishly paced brutal business, showcasing excellent guttural prowess and delectably filthy riffs. "Rigor Mortis" is a stylistic mashup of traditional Kraanium Slam vibes and Brutal Death-Metal rhythms and technicality. The sinister and groovy riffage is impressively delivered, refreshing and thoroughly enjoyable. "The Human Sickness" unleashes the Slams in force, led by mechanical blastbeats and robotic kick drumming, twangy bass and vibrant grooves, not forgetting an infectiously catchy chorus.
As the onslaught continues, signs of diversity and attentive songwriting begins to emerge. For example, "Cannibal Autopsy" incorporates basic technicality and old-school gritty riffing into the monotonous Slams. Elsewhere, "Eating Human Flesh" takes a more drastic turn towards more traditional sounds and styles, although still brandishing an abundance of hammering Slams and blastbeats, the song also bears certain characteristics of the older Brutal Death-Metal ways explored by bands such as Gorgasm and Defeated Sanity.
"Sex Murder Art" is a completely different game altogether. What at first appears like just another rather dull slow paced Slam space filler, suddenly collapses into a full on Slamming Deathcore breakdown, driven by incredibly scratchy riffs overlaid with pinging bass notes. There are no additional demo or live tracks accompanying The Human Sickness, instead the album is rounded off with a delightful and well executed cover of Kraanium's "Double Barrel Penetration".
The biggest downfall to both End Of Existence and The Human sickness is the infernal samples. Considering that The Human Sickness is comprised of 9 tracks, 1 is a cover version and a further 2 are entirely samples, while many more samples are scattered throughout the bulk of the album. Similarly, End Of Existence is also massively weighed down by samples, which completely derails and diminishes the pace and consistency of the music itself.
It would be silly to think that Sex Murder Art are trying to reinvent the wheel with their own reinterpretation of an already over explored and tired sub-genre. Essentially, there are no new and exciting styles and sounds to be found on either of their releases. What there is however, is a sometimes refreshing and enjoyable take on the same old Slam and Brutal Death-Metal formula, if you are patient enough to them. It is fair to say that Sex Murder Art do a good job, better than many, at retelling the same old story that Brutal Slamming Death-Metal fans have heard a thousand times before.
THANK YOU FOR READING! FEEL FREE TO COMMENT OR ASK ANY QUESTIONS!
SEX MURDER ART's music is available through ROTTEN MUSIC here
Listen to SEX MURDER ART's music here
Images from BANDCAMP and THE METAL ARCHIVES
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