Human Infection – Curvatures of Time
Dipankar Mohanty reviews the new album from Human Infection titled Curvatures of Time, released via Blasthead Records.
Artwork by Mark Cooper of Mindrape Art
Well where did this come from? Brutal death metal as a genre is often maligned because of the similarity of bands within its domain, and when the dreaded slam rears its head I often hear slogans against it akin to a group of government officials coursing down the streets in India demanding a raise. I agree that in most of the cases the argument of brutal death metal being stale, not creative and mechanical have some justification but once in a while comes a release which pays homage to what bands like suffocation started and has been carried on by the likes of Inveracity, Skinless and Dawn of Demise.
Human infection’s sophomore release is one battering ram which pummels through the listener from point A to B in a straight line. You hear what is exactly in there – brutal death metal. Human infection’s first album, Infest to Ingest, to put it fairly can be bracketed under the section “yet another brutal death metal album”. However, in Curvatures of Time they draw inspiration from pure old school metal in the vein of Suffocation and then follow it up with generous amounts of US OSDM. Also mixing it with the modern approach of brutal tech death, Curvatures of Time is more than enough to satiate fans of both genres. Celestial fires off the album into hyper speed as its riffs strongly remind us of Suffocation. Devastation is laced with razor sharp Deicide riffs. Slam makes its appearance in Ex-Nihilo and doesn’t overstay its tenure. In fact, the slam parts are not the dominating factor but complement the heavy OSDM base. Sacrificial Skies tinkers with structures which Morbid Angel aimed for in Domination and Gateways to Annihilation before Suffocation’s strong influence cuts through lesser being. Hence, the influence of the forefathers scream loudly, but what Human Infection do very neatly here is package these important influences in a brutal tech death environment rather tastefully. Essentially, when you put on the record it sounds great. Musically this holds its ground first and foremost, followed by the recognition of past influences. Needless to say, fans of Suffocation and OSDM in general will appreciate this. Short and brutal, Curvatures of Time signifies Human Infection’s leap from an average first album to a crushing second. The band brings their A game to the party.
RATING : 4/5 (This mighty tome will resurrect the dead, but it may not turn lead to gold)
Stream the entire album below on bandcamp:
