This is the second album by the Canadian Death Metal band The Last Felony. The immediate comparison base for me was Kataklysm and that remains. What I do like about The Last Felony is their clarity of direction. Terms like old school, brutal and technical are not out of place and everything is geared to an unerringly punishing experience.
In fact the opener “We are Future Housing Developments for Maggots” begins with the constancy and atmosphere of a Black Metal production before turning into a blackened Death Metal track. The drumming is furious, the riff is meandering and both are matched with appropriately ferocious Death Metal vocals. This sets the tone. The title track which follow features guitar work of a more technical nature in amongst the brutality. There’s a little bit of sound reverberation but it’s not overdone. Overriding punishment and brutality are at the core. So is relentless battery, which continues on “No One Would Notice if You Died”. The guitar work is more spread out, and the band demonstrate the ability to change tempo without compromising on menace here and on “Quandary”, which momentarily turns into a war-like march before turning into the customary rapid-fire assault. “No One Would Notice if You Died” is growled at us until we’ve got the point but it’s hardly the “repeat for 8 and fade” of a pop structure. Maybe it’s the Death Metal equivalent. “Do Not Defend Me” once again exemplifies the band’s skill at tempo change, picking up to the point where the drum could substitute for a machine gun. The technical assault continues with its deathly undercurrent. The guitar paints sinister patterns and “Most Unclean”, “Televisionary” and “Water Cooler Suicide” all take on an air of danger. The velocity is increased on “Televisionary” and the growls become more penetrative. A sinister and surprising sample is included on the final two tracks but nothing to divert us away from the constant extremity. The final track “Water Cooler Suicide” is the most intense of all. The harsh guitars signal danger, the drums give out a constant, violent beat as the track moves on brutally and relentlessly before ending on an industrial note.
“Too Many Humans” is more of an uncompromising brutal assault than a wide-ranging collection of subtly assembled masterpieces. That said, it does have a series of groove lines. The tempo changes and the occasional surprise add to the effect without being in the remotest danger of becoming touchy feely. Indeed, this album has the subtlety of a tank mowing down everything in front of it. It’s clear that The Last Felony wouldn’t have it any other way.
http://www.myspace.com/thelastfelony
http://www.lifeforcerecords.com
http://www.myspace.com/lifeforcerecords
