Benighted - Identisick
Adiopocere Records – AR 0106 – February 15, 2006
By Rodrigo Escandon
Are you one of those people that have been praising the many merits of the new
Decapitated or
Psycroptic albums? Well, if you think those bands put out amazing albums then
Benighted is going to knock your socks off with
Identisick! I will even go so far in saying that this is my favorite death metal album since
The Sound of Perseverance. For those keeping tabs, that album came out in 1998 so I really mean it when I say that
Benighted have released a classic.
Benighted hail from France and their style is a hybrid of both technical and brutal death metal. They are not overly technical like
Necrophagist but they don’t fit the
Cannibal Corpse mold either.
Benighted takes the strengths out of each of these two styles of death metal and have crafted music that is pummeling, melodic and challenging. See, this combination gives the music plenty of groove without losing any brutality and it is able to keep you guessing on what will come next. Even the singing is extremely varied as well. Throughout
Identisick you will hear high-pitch screams, grindcore-type snarls and low guttural growls. All these different dimensions in music and singing manage to give each song its own uniqueness and each listen to
Identisick is fresh and exciting. I keep finding myself playing this album on a daily basis and loving it more each and every time.
“Nemesis” starts off the album with an amazing display of staccato riffing. The song goes through so many parts but the one constant is that if flows perfectly from beginning to end. ‘Identisick” features some crushing riffs and powerful drumming for the first 36 seconds and then it heads into a sick 21 second guitar solo and I even find myself singing along in the end to the chants of the title. “Sex-Addicted” moves along nicely with plenty of brutality but then out of nowhere at 2:54 the band plays a short acoustic interlude that molds perfectly into the song. “Mourning Affliction” is a headbanger’s and mosher’s dream come true. The song switches from fast and slow tempos to really get you involved with the song. My favorite part is at 2:16 when the bass starts playing by itself and soon the rest of the band jumps in and slowly the speed is built back up. Oh yeah, this song even features a techno beat.
By now, you should be getting the idea of what to expect from
Identisick. The rest of the 6 songs that I haven’t mentioned all share the same qualities but as I mentioned before all the songs stand apart from each other. Finishing up the package of
Identisick also is a great cover of
Napalm Death’s “Suffer the Children”. I really can’t stress how good
Identisick is and I highly recommend to all death metal fans. This album demands your attention.
9/10
UM’s Review Rating Scale
Benighted Official Website
Adiopocere Records Official Website
Bondy
