Holland’s latest death-grind export comes in the form of Severe Torture, a four-piece who are intent on showing utter disregard for all things subtle. The first indication is the album cover, which is a touching rendition of the whole «demon in Hell eating a human corpse» theme. The song titles reveal an anti-Christian agenda, although I have to admit to being somewhat perplexed by track #4, which is entitled «Baptized In Virginal Liquid». I’m assuming that it resulted from a slight mispelling of the word «vaginal», but then again, I might just need to brush up on my knowledge of bodily secretions.

All superficial issues aside, Severe Torture play a style of death metal in which speed, blast beats, and harmonized riffs reign supreme. While it’s true that originality gets the back seat here, I would still argue that «Feasting On Blood» is a worthwhile release. I find the vocals of Dennis (whose last name was apparently withheld for the sake of anonymity) to be as one-dimensional as they are unintelligible, but anything else would probably sound ridiculous over this type of music. Hence, Dennis escapes further scrutiny. Guitarist Thijs makes up for the missing vowels in his name with some incisive, brutally calculated riffs which prove to be the propelling force behind the band’s sound. Where Thijs really excels is in keeping things fresh — rather than playing the same riff over and over again in any given song, he makes an effort to add harmony lines or subtle change ups on each subsequent repitition. What results is a disc with high replay value.

«Feasting On Blood» sports a good production, which allows bassist Patrick (who will facilitate Severe Torture’s ascension to the ranks of «Elite Dutch Metal Bands with At Least One Member Named Patrick» — Pestilence, anyone?) a strong presence, with plenty of low-end rumbling to anchor the rhythm section. This brings us to drummer Seth (sorry, I’m out of bad jokes) who does an excellent (albeit straightforward) job of keeping things tight. I finished listening to this album with a strong sense of potential, which will prove me either a prophet or an idiot when the follow-up is released. I will hope for the former outcome.

(Note: I believe this disc is distributed through Razorback in the US, and Bones Brigade in Europe).

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