### Dying Fetus: History repeats

#### 21/11/11 || InquisitorGeneralis

When Dying Fetus’ cover of “Unleashed upon mankind” was first released, many of our distinguished forum members instantly panned it and questioned how Dying Fetus could ever dare reproduce something done by those untouchable titans of crushing death metal…

How dare they cover Bolthrower… grumble grumble grumble…

The vocals don’t match… grumble grumble grumble…

I don’t like the production… grumble grumble grumble…

Who put this stick that says “old fucktard” up my ass… grumble grumble grumble…

True I am an admitted Dying Fetus fan, but if Lord K hadn’t deleted my first round of reviews here _ you would have seen that I can look at their work (I gave “War of Attrition” a 6, I think) somewhat objectively. I feel that “Killing on Adrenaline” and “Destroy the Opposition” are certified classics, along with thousands of other extreme death metal fans. So, where does this leave “History Repeats”? Well, honestly it’s a pretty fucking good EP of cover tunes. “History Repeats” is not really a _necessary release, but I do enjoy hearing some classic death metal tracks get Fetusized.

Things get started strong with “Fade into obscurity”, a track by a band I have never heard of, New York’s Dehumanized. It’s pretty fucking good, and I think I need to check out some Dehumanized. The Fetus version is pretty fucking solid and gets things going on a good note. Next up is the short and sweet “Unchallenged hate” originally by Napalm Death. I think all metal bands must cover Napalm Death at least once in their careers. I could think of about 100 better songs for Fetus to do, but this one is decent I guess. I would cream my pants for a Dying Fetus version of “The infiltrator”, “Hung”, or “Mass appeal madness” though; any of those would big titties covered in vodka-infused whipped cream… otherwise known as Whipahol! Isn’t the modern world awful and rotten?

“Gorehog” is another solid slab of mid-paced death metal done the Fetus way. Broken Hope is another American death metal band I have never heard of that might be worth checking out. I must admit, it is nice to hear a slower Dying Fetus. The band does a nice job of leaving their usual frenetic blasting and riffing behind in favor of slow tempos and grooves. John Gallagher’s vocals are bit less froggy and Sean Beasley’s are decent, but on tracks like “Unleashed upon mankind” and “Born in a casket” neither are up to the original snuff of Karl Willets and Chris Barnes respectively. However, both of those tracks are still highly enjoyable because Dying Fetus is able to integrate their grindy-touch to those classic crushers in order to create songs that are true to the original’s feel but clearly bear the bloody stain of a Dying Fetus. Same goes for Pestilence’s “Twisted truth”.

Overall, I enjoy “History Repeats” quite a bit because I like Dying Fetus and I like old-school death metal. It combines the two nicely. There are zero issues with the band itself; the current power-trio of Gallagher, Beasley, and Williams has solidified into the tightest Fetus line-up since the “Killing on Adrenaline” days and it is not surprise that since those three buckled down in ’07 the band has seen a major resurgence in popularity. I would rather have a new studio record than a short EP of cover songs, and a few of those cover songs are pretty obscure (at least to me), but overall “History Repeats” is worth getting if you are a fan of what Dying Fetus has been up to over the last few years. It’s not mindblowing, it’s not groundbreaking, and it is not a stretch of the band’s talent. But, “History Repeats” is fucking old-school death metal honored by one of the best extreme bands ever to piss in the mainstream.

- Information
- Label: Relapse
- Relased: 2011
- Website: www.dyingfetus.com
- Band
- John Gallagher: guitars, vocals
- Sean Beasley: bass, vocals
- Trey Williams: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Fade into obscurity
- 02. Unchallenged hate
- 03. Gorehog
- 04. Rohypnol
- 05. Unleashed upon mankind
- 06. Twisted truth
- 07. Born in a casket