Dreaded Chaotic Reign 2002

"Having operated within the universe of black metal on the two previous albums, Carpe Tenebrum turn to brutal death metal on this release. Most of the riffage is brutal and aggressive, with a couple heavy sections and breakdowns here and there - and everything is kept relatively simple, but not minimalistic.

This sounds like something awesome, and I guess it could have been, but I have major problems with the drums whose sound blatantly give away that they are programmed on some second rate software, and that is really annoying - and especially ruins the listening experience of the brutal blasting deathgrind parts.

The overall production is not too great either and it is very uneven with the drums, unfortunately, being dominant and the guitars too fuzzy and flat-sounding while, on the plus side, the bass is audible at times.

A shame because there are a lot of very cool ideas and classic brutal riffage and, with real drums and a better production, this release could have been really good (and maybe, I admit, the rating is a bit harsh here, but the programmed drums really ruin everything).

(review originally posted on metalmusicarchives.com)"