after i treated myself wih chunks of early suffocation material, i wanted some recent stuff of this new york death metal outfit. getting information i found out that the easiest accessible record at the moment, is their latest full length "pinnacle of bedlam". i had various colour options to choose from. a green vinyl edition directly from the label nuclear blast and a clear splattered edition from animate records, plus a few ebay buy-it-now options.
i was pretty close to buy the clear splatter u.s. vinyl edition when i stumbled upon an ebay auction with yet another colour-way. it was the dusk blue version of the first press which is by far the best looking and seemingly the highest sought after. if discogs is to be believed, that is. the starting bid was around twenty bucks and that must have put off a lot of bidders. i won it for the starting bid and consider myself lucky, because the price was still the half of what is called for the cheapest discogs offer at the moment.
last week this lovely package arrived and it simply looks awesome. i hoped for an equally awesome experience when dropping the needle on this grooved plastic platter. i wasn't disappointed. "pinnacle of bedlam" is a whirlwind of riffs, pumping bass, blast beats and guttural growls. it takes everything in its way and leaves devastation behind. straight forward technical death metal without gimmicks. speed, groove and solos. that simple but that good.
this is the band's seventh full length and the second since "pierced from within" not to feature mike smith on drums. dave culross of malevolent creation fame is a pretty good equivalent and does a splendid job here. it seems like all band members had a good time recording the pinnacle. the whole record feels packed with energy. the presentation is equally as great. nice artwork which doesn't look as cheap as a lot of its counterparts do nowadays, a poster and sharp 180gr dusk blue vinyl. i have #153/250. nuclear blast. 2013.
