### Murder Intentions: A prelude to total decay

#### 05/01/10 || Khlysty

Murder Intentions come from Belgium and, in their own words, play “pissed-off brutal death-grind”. If one wants to be more accurate, one would better describe the band’s sound as brootal death metal, with meaty, dirty riffing, a crunchy low-end, massive, super-moshing breakdowns and a dual vocal attack of death grunts and lotsa screaming. Plus, the band likes to add some interesting samples –mainly dialogue-type- as small intros to some of the songs, which, generally move within the three-to-three-and-a-half-minute time-frame, with only two passing the four-minute-mark.

Now, I might piss off the band, but I really cannot, for the life of me, discern any real elements of grind within this record. The rhythm generally moves within the visible spectrum, most of the time trying more to groove than to obliterate everything in a matter of a few seconds. In all actuality, the band enters hyper-blasting territories rarely, preferring more to pummel the listener, that to annihilate him. Which, y’know would not be a problem if the songs were more memorable or “hooky” than they really are.

See, after listening to the record a coupla times, I was, well, bored by it. Sometimes, the only thing that would separate one song from another would be the introductory sample and, most of the time, I had to REALLY pay attention to small details (a breakdown here, some bendy-note intrusion there) to really discern one tune from another. There’s a uniformity of sound and approach here that really bothers me, since I cannot really get into the record and enjoy it to its fullness. Also, for better or worse, there’s no tech-death wankery here, what with most of the songs following a pretty much linear modus of development.

If there’s one song that I like is the bizarre cut that finishes off the record, as it displays the more experimental side of the band, adding slow-burning brutality to strange ambiance and creating something that really shines out. To close things of the production is okay, I guess, although the drums are more muffled than I would have liked them to be. Bottom line? This is, a least to these ears, a pretty run-of-the-mill brutal death metal record. It’s not bad and I suppose that fans of the subgenre might like to investigate further. Me, I ain’t so sure I would be returning to it any time soon.

- Information
- Released: 2009
- Label: Soulflesh Collector Records
- Website: Murder Intentions MySpace
- Band
- Anthony Adam: drums
- Bart Ranson: vocals
- Jelle Vandenweghe: bass
- Jens Werbrouck: guitar
- Thomas Vandenhouweele: vocals

- Tracklist
- 01. Violent nature
- 02. Infected casualties
- 03. Corpse explosion
- 04. Failed humanity
- 05. B.D.M.F.
- 06. The cleansing
- 07. Icon of butchery
- 08. Never look back
- 09. (hidden track)