Cerebral Bore: Maniacal Miscreation

Brutal death metal is not supposed to be catchy.  It is supposed to make eardrums bleed and heads bang, but it is not supposed to infectious.  Someone apparently forgot to notify Cerebral Bore.  Now this is not to suggest that Cerebral Bore is like the Katy Perry (or some other catchy pop singer) of brutal death metal, but this is definitely an album that will stick in your head.

Cerebral Bore is from Glasgow, Scotland and recently achieved some measure of notoriety when they hired Youtube mini-sensation Simone "Som" Pluijmers as their brutal vocalist.  It is not nearly as unusual these days for a woman to handle vocals in a metal band, but brutal death metal is a genre that has not seen a lot of this.  Cerebral Bore saw a way to make an impact and they grabbed it.  It certainly helps that Som really does sound incredible.  She has a surprisingly deep register, making her voice even more guttural than a lot of male brutal death metal singers.  I do not want to turn this into one of those "whoa this band is unique because it has a female singer" reviews, but she really does have an impressive voice.

The music is clearly influenced by Suffocation, Dying Fetus, and other leading bands in brutal death metal.  Yet it is accessible and surprisingly melodic.  Cerebral Bore does a fine job of mixing the more modern brutal styles with the older, more melodic styles of death metal.  What results is a shockingly palatable album for old school fans and extreme fans alike.

I really enjoyed this one.  I like some good brutal death metal now and again, and this one definitely sounds like one I would listen to a lot.  Unfortunately recently Som left the band.  I am not sure we will see another album quite this good from these guys as the vocals are a large part of why I like this album.  I guess we will have to wait and see.