Detrimentum, Inhuman Disgrace

I’m not usually a huge fan of overly technical metal. Call me a simpleton, but I’d rather have some solid, chugging groove than too much doodly-noodly leads and spastic rhythms within my death metal. I’d say that my go-to band in the sub-genre would be someone like Neuraxis — they’ve got the technical chops, but don’t go too far with it. England’s Detrimentum has a similar style of technicality to their death metal, even leaking in a bit of a proggy edge to the guitar work.

What helps me with an album like Inhuman Disgrace is the touch of melody that is injected within the staccato riffing and rapid shifting tempos. It also helps that the band knows when to ratchet things down a bit and let the atmosphere take over (“Pestilence Shared with the Worms” is a great example of this). Throughout the album you’ll find short moments of levity amongst the technical riffing, layered vocals and rapid fire blast work of the rhythm section. The stellar “Ascension” is a prime example of this and is a standout song on the album because of it.

Much of the material on Inhuman Disgrace utilizes this approach. The band certainly has the chops to overwhelm (“The Journeyman’s Lament”), but they’re smart enough to reign it all in when needed and deliver a solid song instead of just trying to show off. At times they simply let loose like on the furious “Effigies of the Silent Kings,” or bludgeoning “In the Shadow of the Cross We Burn” — a track that seems to bring a simpler, more barbaric delivery.

When all is said and done, Detrimentum deliver a sizable helping of technical death metal, but with enough of a cold, melodic edge to temper the whole thing and bring it all together nicely. Inhuman Disgrace is a great example of a band knowing when to stay focused and when to let loose with a flourish of technical mayhem.