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Pestilence - Resurrection Macabre CD (album) cover

RESURRECTION MACABRE

Pestilence

Tech/Extreme Prog Metal


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The Pessimist
PROG REVIEWER
1 stars Awful. I was actually quite pleased to hear Pestilence had arranged a comeback after their landmark album Spheres, so I bought this album. But when I put it in my CD player all hope had gone. I was actually thinking they would have come up with something magic, like Cynic's Traced In Air, but I was horrifically disappointed when I heard 15 years go to complete waste on a mediocre metal album and an unoriginal prog album. It would be ok if the music was unoriginal but good musically, but it's not. They merely recycled either other people's ideas or ideas they have used up already. Nothing new to the metal worlds, nor the prog world. Yes, it is still slightly progressive, but in the same way Torman Maxt is progressive.

As for the songs? There's no soul to them. They are trying too hard to sound dark and death metal and it ends up just coming out as mechanical and banal. On top of that, their use of syncopation is quite amateur and all the tracks sound the same as the previous one.

I wouldn't recommend this. I was put off straight away and I'm well and truly INTO death metal like this. If you are going to get any Pestilence albums get either the marvellous Spheres or the slightly lesser Testimoney of the Ancients. Avoid this one like the plague.

Report this review (#210139)
Posted Saturday, April 4, 2009 | Review Permalink
1 stars So Pestilence reformed and went back to their roots. Death metal it is then. I wonder why. Pestilence had set themselves up very well with Testimony Of The Ancient and Spheres as the thinking man's death metal band. But on this album, Pestilence goes back to Square 1. Well, this is the natural successor to their Consuming Impulse album. It is like Testimony Of The Ancient was never released. Pestilence has also ditched all references to (the band) Death on this album. What is left is semi-brutal death metal and just that. It is not brutal and technical enough for the die-hard death metal fan and they are ditching the fanbase (including everyone from PA) they got after Spheres. This album is a mystery. On the other side; they have done some good metal festivals on the back of this album so I guess everyone is happy.

This is a death metal album and not a good one either. I am still a fan of the likes of CANNIBAL CORPSE. This album is not anywhere near their standard and it just falls flat on it's face. No new ideas, just generic death metal. I have heard everything here before. I am resurrected macabre by this album. Poor, poor, poor.

1.5 stars

Report this review (#220396)
Posted Tuesday, June 9, 2009 | Review Permalink
UMUR
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars "Resurrection Macabre" is the 5th full-length studio album by Dutch death metal act Pestilence. The album was released through Mascot Records in March 2009. Itīs been 16 years since the release of "Spheres (1993)" which is the predecessor to "Resurrection Macabre" and a lot of water has run under the bridge in those years. The only remaining original member in the lineup is lead vocalist/guitarist Patrick Mameli while bassist Tony Choy (Cynic, Atheist, C-187) who also played on "Testimony of the Ancients (1991)" (and on the subsequent tour for that album) returns for another stint with Pestilence. Peter Wildoer ( Darkane, Arc Enemy, Agretator, Armageddon, Majestic, Silver Seraph, Time Requiem, Electrocution 250, Non-Human Level, Rusty Flores, Grimmark) is new on the drums in this three-piece version of Pestilence.

Pestilence went out with a bang with "Spheres (1993)" in my opinion and that album is still widely considered a seminal progressive death metal album from the nineties. Therefore it was natural to assume that they would continue where they left off. As it turns out that assumption couldnīt be more wrong. You have to remember that "Spheres (1993)" is an album thatīs become known as a seminal progressive death metal release in retrospect, because upon release it was a commercial failure for Pestilence and it alienated quite a few of the bandīs fans. With "Resurrection Macabre" itīs obvious that Pestilence were determined to win back some of those estranged fans.

The music style on "Resurrection Macabre" is rooted in old school death metal (with some technical twists and dissonant notes). I count only a few jazz influenced guitar solos as progressive on this album. The rest sound more like Pestilence sounded on "Consuming Impulse (1989)" just not quite as inspired or fresh as that album sounded back then. Patrick Mameli especially sounds a bit tired here and his vocals are over-processed. I would have prefered a reunion with original vocalist Martin Van Drunen who Iīm sure could have breathed some life into some of the tracks on "Resurrection Macabre". While thereīs nothing wrong with the musicianship or the Jacob Hansen production "Resurrection Macabre" becomes monotone and a bit tedious after a while. The tracks generally donīt stick out much and few feature memorable hooks. When that is said "Resurrection Macabre" is still a couple of notches more interesting than the most standard death metal albums out there and Pestilence do receive the praise that they have a signature sound, which is a rarity in death metal.

On the limited edition of the album there are re-recorded versions of "Chemo Therapy", "Out of the Body" and "Lost Souls" where former guitarist Patrick Uterwijk guest on lead guitar. The re-recorded versions are decent but I prefer the originals.

To my ears "Resurrection Macabre" is not the expected triumphant return of one of the most important progressive death metal bands from the nineties. Itīs not that I canīt appreciate good old school death metal but "Resurrection Macabre" simply canīt compete with the best contemporary acts in that genre or their own early output for that matter. Itīs just above average at best. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted. Iīll take out my old Pestilence vinyl copies of "Consuming Impulse (1989)" and "Testimony of the Ancients (1991)" any day before listening to "Resurrection Macabre" and thatīs never a good sign.

Report this review (#221683)
Posted Thursday, June 18, 2009 | Review Permalink
3 stars I must admit that I was disappointed the first couple of times I heard this album. It's my own fault, since I had expected something along the lines of "Spheres" or "Testimony of the Ancients" which were fairly experimental and progressive, the former even containing guitar synths and fusion jazz elements. Instead "Resurrection Macabre" is a straight death metal album, and perhaps the most brutal effort ever from the band, some songs even containing grindcore style blastbeats.

The album has grown on me, and I quite like it now, and although I prefer the "Spheres"-style, I can also appreciate Pestilence's sort of retrospective new musical direction which draws on the styles of all of their previous releases as well as on more recent brutal death metal. There are some progressive elements on the album which are vaguely reminiscent of the "Spheres" stuff, such as a couple of interesting jazz chords-based riffs that pop up here and there, but the most progressive elements are found in the guitar solos many of which draw on jazz fusion related scales and techniques rather than just shredding and tremolo arm action (not that there's anything wrong with shredding and tremolo arm action at all), which makes them interesting to listen to.

The sound has a very shap and metallic quality - a very edgy metallic sort of guitar distortion - which works to Pestilence's advantage.

While this album certainly has its moments, and many of them, I think that' at the end of the day, not a lot of progheads will appreciate it at all. A lot of fans of tech/prog extreme metal probably will (although those who expected a "Spheres II" are in for a disappointment), and I'm sure that it'll strike gold with many fans of old school death metal, especially fans of Pestilence's early works.

Report this review (#273590)
Posted Monday, March 22, 2010 | Review Permalink

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