Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Vital Remains - Dechristianize (2003)

Well, you learn something new everyday it seems.  On a random purge of album suggestions this morning I stumbled across the fifth full-length from US death metal outfit Vital Remains.  It took me a while before I realised the vocalist here is none other than Satan's left tit himself, Glen Benton of Deicide fame.  Glen covered vocals for the band from 2002 - 2009 it turns out, and I had no idea.

What we get here is not a Deicide clone (entirely) as a result of Benton's involvement.  Yes, it is clear that those bestial, layered vocals are exactly the same as what you would hear on any Deicide record from the previous decade to this release and at times the blistering intensity of Vital Remains matches that of the Florida giants of death metal.  The opening track is also a not unexpected film clip around Benton's favourite subject matter, the Son of God.  Comparisons aside, there are some fundamental differences in just a couple of areas that managed to hold my interest long enough to write a review.

Firstly, the sound on the guitars is really thin making them sound like they lack power.  That aside they do manage to get this Morbid Angel-like sound right on a few occasions (At War With God) and are still able to generate a sort of grinding intensity when in full flow.  Second major difference is the lead work is incredibly rich sounding, maintaining the requisite levels of sonics but at the same time sounding clearer and crisper than I first expected.  This gives some welcome melodic respite from the scathing sound of the riffs and introduces some genuine traditional metal sounding leads.

Aside from the novelty of Benton and these leads there isn't a massive amount to get excited about otherwise as the trio just go through the motions under what feels like a stifling production job.   I listened to it the whole way through more out of curiosity than anything else but if we stick with asking if it does what it says on the tin then it most definitely is a death metal album albeit a decidedly average one.