Devourment - Butcher the Weak (2006)^{Release ID: 11594}

Oh... my... god.  This was freaking insane.  Thanks to some clearer production and a more progressive outlook on many of the song structures, this album boasts some insane creativity in comparison to Devourment's first two albums.  This official re-recording of the previously self-released sophomore is all about improvement.  On this re-recording, Devourment is no longer being simple slammers.  They actually manage to be much more surprising.  This takes the headbanging quality of the flawed original and mingles it with constant surprises that never let up on the super-extremities, not even during the lighter moments.  Even Mike Majewski is trying out a variety of vocal tricks on songs like Serial Cocksucker, which was already one of the more creative songs on the previous album.   Hell, even of Tomb of Scabs, which was pretty freaking weak on the original work, this completely crazy slam track has both extra-gutteral and somewhat intelligible vocals among the pig squeals.  And thanks to this consistently unpredictable behavior of each song, the sameyness factor is a minimal problem, acting more like Pg. 99's Document 8 in the sense that it handles a genre and its child, (screamo and emoviolence, in comparison to brutal and slam), and showcases a wide variety of tricks without getting too samey, something that original felt monotone about the original album.  However, since the creative diversity was more on a song by song basis, I'd say that the edge still goes to Document 8.  But even though our guitar structures and singing here are at a creative peak, the star of the show is still our drummer Eric Park, who's combination of speed and heaviness rival that of many of the greatest drummers on Earth, especially when he's got that combination of snares and cymbals going at the same time.  In fact, the craziness here is on par with a good avant-garde jazz album.  In fact, I don't know if there's a song on this album I couldn't rate five stars.  In fact, it even made a point of bringing unpredictability and surprises to what was the weakest song on the original: Babykiller, largely by starting it off as lighter and more intelligible, as a brutal death song before a slam death song.

Well, congratulations, Devourment!  After 2421 metal albums, you have created the heaviest metal album I have ever heard.  There are even some ways in which Devourment match Suffocation, and I do NOT say that easily about death metal bands at all.  Maybe it doesn't have the genre-diversifying creativity of albums like Unquestionable Presence by Athiest, but I don't think this album really needs it.  This is more than just a showcase of heaviness; it's proof that even these young and dumb hopefuls who obsess over the grossest humor possible can show creative intelligence, and even though it's samey it NEVER get old. They flawlessly overcame their lack of diversity to reach a new metallic height that might not be replicated ever again, beating Kreator, Cryptopsy and Cannibal Corpse at the heaviness game. This is both clear and polished while being disgusting and dirty, and it molds creativity with sameyness perfectly.  This is some peak death metal here.

Now if you'll excuse me, I think I need to listen to some female-fronted new age to heal my brain front this sonic assault.

I first became aware of Dallas-based slam death metal establishment Devourment back in 1997/98 through their “Impaled” demo which I picked up through the tape trading scene. I remember really digging it too although I’d start my decade-long sabbatical from the metal scene shortly afterwards & wouldn’t return to metal until 2009 when I’d immediately looked to catch up on what I’d missed from my beloved brutal death metal scene. The band’s 1999 debut album “Molesting The Decapitated” would be my first point of call as many a pundit seemed to be claiming it as a seminal record for the scene at the time. On paper that album was always going to appeal to my particular taste profile however it certainly wasn’t without its flaws which left me wondering whether Devourment would improve on those with subsequent releases, particularly given the long period between their debut & the release of their sophomore album “Butcher The Weak”. The gap was mainly due to the incarceration of guitarist Ruben Rosas (ironically on the day that “Molesting The Decapitated” was released) which triggered a series of splits & reformations that would derail Devourment's immediate plans for world domination but “Butcher The Weak” would finally see the light of day as an independent release in 2005. Devourment would be picked up by Minnesota label Brutal Bands shortly afterwards though & the label would facilitate the re-recording of the whole record so there are technically two versions of this release, the second & arguably more accepted version being the one I’m reviewing today.

Those that were familiar with “Molesting The Decapitated” prior to checking out “Butcher The Weak” likely weren’t surprised by what they heard as its successor doesn’t try to change the formula much but it does manage to improve on it a touch. There were a number of obstacles I faced in my appreciation of Devourment’s first up effort & the completely unintelligible, ultra-gutteral drainpipe vocal performance was certainly one of them. Bassist Mike Majewski has taken over the microphone duties from Rosas this time with the former front man opting to take on all of the guitars instead but the result is still the same with Majewski making very little attempt to enunciate his words. This will definitely be a dealbreaker for those metalheads not already accustomed to slam/brutal death metal as you’ll rarely hear a more overt example of that technique than you do here, at least not from a vocalist that’s not using a vocoder like is commonly the case with the goregrind scene. The other major issue I had with the debut was the sloppy drumming & tightly-wound, pinging snare drum sound. Thankfully new drummer Eric Park has been gifted with a much more natural & powerful snare sound this time which makes the whole record a lot more easily digestible. Unfortunately though, Park doesn’t seem to be much better than former skinsman Brad Fincher at performing blast beats & gravity blasts so you’ll still find a lot of examples where Park struggles to keep up with the rest of the band once the tempo starts to reach light-speed.

Thankfully though, Devourment are at their best when they’re sticking to their signature slow-to-mid tempo slam riffs & you’ll do well to find a more obvious example of the slam death metal sound than this particular record as it doesn’t hold back at all in presenting its differentiating element. I’ve always been a sucker for the heavily palm-muted, Suffocation-style breakdown & Devourment have made a career out of replicating it through as many different variations on the theme as they can come up with. It might not be the most original or creative mode of attack but I inevitably find my body reacting in positive ways so who the fuck am I to question it, particularly when used in conjunction with some well placed double kick work. Could “Butcher The Weak” have done with some spasmatic guitar solos to help the tracks reach greater heights? Shit yeah it could have but I’ve said that about all of the Devourment records I’ve reviewed to date so I’m relatively at peace with it at this point.

So just where does “Butcher The Weak” sit as far as Devourment’s discography & the overall slam death metal scene goes? Well, I’d argue that it’s a minor improvement on “Molesting The Decapitated” & one of the better examples of the slam death sound you’ll find. It would take the band thirteen years to top it with 2019’s “Obscene Majesty” album being Devourment’s finest full-length in my opinion. If you hate slam death metal then this record ain’t gonna change that in the slightest. In fact, it’ll likely further repel you if I’m being honest but fans of bands like Abominable Putridity, Kraanium & Internal Bleeding will no doubt find a fair bit to enjoy in “Butcher The Weak”.