Mutilatred – Determined to Rot

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MUTILATRED is a Brutal Death Metal band from Toledo, Ohio. “Determined to Rot” is the group’s second full-length album, released by Redefining Darkness Records on May 13, 2022. First of all, let’s talk about the album’s strengths. The production absolutely hits you like a ton of bricks. The guitar tone sounds somewhat akin to a mixture of that of Dimebag Darrell and Erik Rutan, which is perfect for Death Metal. The drums sound tight, the vocals pop out through the mix, and the bass rumbles with just the right amount of presence.

The musicianship must also be complimented. Clay Lowe’s drumming is superb, changing styles at the drop of a hat and mixing speed with technicality effortlessly (“Fuck Everyone”). Eli Fakes’ bass playing is not particularly flashy, but it anchors the rhythm section flawlessly (“In and Out of the Grave”). Patrick McDonagh, while not always clear with his enunciation, has a brutal voice that fits in with a lot of the greats from Death Metal’s past and present (“Everyone's Doing Shitty”). And of course, the riffs he trades with Drew Arnold are devastating, intricate and highly dissonant (“Shitted (Out)”).

Unfortunately, however, I cannot give this album a high review. This LP is another example of what I have called in previous reviews “riff soup.” There are no consistent parts in any of the songs for my ears to latch onto, and while there certainly are riffs on a few songs that stand out to me (“Waste of the Mind” and “All the Way Dead” in particular come to mind), there's nothing that I feel I will be able to fully remember from this record. Overall, if you like this kind of music, you will enjoy this album. For my taste, there is only so much Brutal Death Metal that I can listen to before I either yawn or get lost entirely in the mushiness that is unfolding in front of me. All I can say about MUTILATRED’s new record is that, besides the cool song titles, the group needs to take some song writing lessons in order to hook more listeners like me.

Production: 7
Musicianship: 7
Songwriting: 2
Memorability: 1