Review by Rexorcist for Devourment - Butcher the Weak (2006)

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.