Reader Submissions: Amputation Spree: Koyaanisqatsi

In the Hopi language, "Koyaanisqatsi" means "unbalanced life".  I cannot think of a better description for this twenty minute long track, the latest from "thinking man's slam" band Amputation Spree.  Just as any good twenty minute song should, this track covers a broad spectrum of sounds and tempos.  It is unsettling and noisy, and yet oddly charming.

This is the third time I have reviewed something by Amputation Spree and the band always seems to surprise me.  The last time around, I commented that "Amputation Spree continues to push the boundaries of slam death metal, forcing the genre to evolve somewhat away from the simplistic style it has largely become known for."  This is once again true with this track.  There are not a lot of slam moments, as Amputation Spree relies mostly on progressiveness and unusual structures, but slam moments do still shine through once in awhile.  It is becoming increasingly tougher to categorize the band though, especially as this song really moves away from the mostly predictable slam death metal genre.

For the most part though, this is a haunting and harrowing track, alternating between extremely heavy moments and more psychedelic and trancelike moments.  There are even some clean vocals thrown in from time to time to keep things very interesting.  The song reminds me of Edge of Sanity's masterpiece Crimson in that it is a lengthy single track that manages to retain interest throughout due to a constantly shifting narrative.  The end of the song bears very little resemblance to the beginning as the song ebbs and flows constantly through several movements.

Amputation Spree continues to impress me.  Their sound is constantly shifting and constantly evolving.  Maybe one day they should be signed to Relapse Records, despite what their Bandcamp page says.

Reader Submissions: Amputation Spree: Three/Inferno EP

I reviewed some of Amputation Spree's material a few weeks back when I did Slam Week. Sole member Spencer Van Dyk apparently caught wind of this and contacted me when his band released this third EP for a review. He promised a leap in quality on this release. So I was pretty eager to check this out as I was very impressed with Amputation Spree's previous material.

This EP certainly delivers. Amputation Spree refers to itself as "thinking man's slam" and I can honestly agree with that. Amputation Spree pushes the boundaries of slam death. This is not a soulless and generic Devourment ripoff like so many other groups. This band has a lot of depth and utilizes progressive structures to go along with their increasingly heavy slams.

The biggest surprise on the EP is the inclusion of clean vocal moments. That's right, slam with some clean vocals. Who would have thought? The band also uses some occasional dissonant chord progressions which gives off the impression of a slammier Ulcerate and some downright Atheist or Cynic-esque moments in the second and third tracks.

Amputation Spree continues to push the boundaries of slam death metal, forcing the genre to evolve somewhat away from the simplistic style it has largely become known for. This is extremely impressive. This band should really be checked out.

A Quick Look at Slam Death Bands on Bandcamp

I have not done much with bandcamp.com so far. I have listened to a few bands that have requested me to do reviews of their material, but I have not explored the site much other than that. This week, I decided to do a search for Slam Week to see what kind of slam bands bandcamp has to offer. The results were fairly impressive.

AMPUTATION SPREE
Okay, this band is freaking incredible. They have two EPs available on their Bandcamp page and both of them sound great. The band is definitely influenced by Wormed, hence their kind of bizarre, sci-fi sounding slam. The atmosphere is the most impressive aspect from this band, something that is pretty lacking in most slam. This is some surprisingly good and original-sounding slam. I prefer the second EP personally, but they are both pretty damn good.

BLOODRAIN EVENING
This band has only released one song so far, but it is fairly impressive. The vocals can actually be understood and are not delivered in a completely generic style. The music is kind of a mix of slam death and Cannibal Corpse.

CARBONIZED GNAWING MANDIBLE
This one is almost morosely slow and has a mechanical quality to it that sounds surprisingly good. The production is interesting as it gives the whole album a spacey feel. The vocals echo quite a bit which gets a little annoying at times, but it adds to the spacey feel. On first listen I was not terribly impressed, but it grew on me.

EXTINCTIONIST
Extinctionist's EP is a short blast of slamming fury. There are five songs here and the whole thing clocks in at about eight minutes long. There is an old school death metal influence here, so the music is actually fairly fast while retaining a lot of the slam style.

NEUROMA
This band has a sense of humor, I'll give them that. Song titles like "Dingoes Ate My Baby" show this off. Musically it is faster-paced brutal death/slam, which sounds pretty good. After the first track, the rest of the songs on the free promo are demo and live tracks without as good of production values. But there is some talent here.

OMINOUS RUIN
I like this one quite a bit. The band does a lot to build an intense atmosphere. They sound like a mix of Devourment and Deicide, with the double layered extreme vocals and the rather impressive soloing mixed with the slams.