Review: Dying Fetus’ ‘Wrong One to F**k With’ continues their streak

Posted by on June 21, 2017

Dying Fetus might be the “wrong one to fuck with” but their newest release proves that the Marylanders are indeed the right band to listen to.  The trio’s newest LP crushes it.    With so many consistently good releases, some might wonder if the band could continue their metal magic with their latest full-length.  Let’s say that after even the first listen, fans of the band will have any doubts surely assuaged.  

So let’s spell it out.  Wrong One to Fuck With is face meltingly good.  Remember when George Lucas made great films, like Raiders of the Lost Ark?  And remember when the Ark was opened and Toht’s face just completely falls right off as his eyes are wide open in profound yet confounded amazement?  It’s like that.  But unlike Lucas’s fourth Indy film  (What was the name of that one again?  My brain seems to have put a block on those neuron clusters for its own protection.) there’s no turning away from the greatness.  Yes, all those rumors you’ve been hearing on the internets are true, this is the monster death metal record to buy this summer.  Indeed, these are the droids you are looking for (damnit – wrong film – sorry).  

The first three tracks on the new disc grab the listener right off the bat and don’t let go.  The riffs, the harmonics, the vocals… just pull you right in.  These songs are a clear signal that the band was looking to increase the complexity of the song structures a bit from 2012’s Reign Supreme.  The fourth cut, “Reveling the Abyss” slows things down a bit, giving your pulse a much needed break. But the heaviness is, of course, still there – and that slow down in tempo is merely temporary.  The middle of the track gives you some incredible riffing, then integrates some classic blasts from Trey Williams.  

Unlike some of their previous releases, this record features a bit more of the tech aspects found in band’s musicianship, showcasing the fact that if you practice your craft day in day out, you’ll have an incredible result that exhibits your dexterity in a berth of well-crafted groove and heavy riffage.  Some pleasant surprises on this record, such as the brooding intro to the seventh track, “Weaken the Structure,” the Andy LaRocque and Michael Denner influences in some of the leads, and the guest vocals from the guy who played Short Round in Indiana Jones (Ok, I lied about that last part.) really make the release stand out from the crowd.

This record is going to bring you back to the early days of tech-laden death metal yet it also moves the death genre forward.  This isn’t commoditized death metal or the ubiquitous tech death clogging up the reddit forums.  This is death the way it was but with a clear evolution that brings the sound to the next tier.  It’s as if you took the strongest aspects from the best of death metal and then added some unique groove and nuance from 80’s extreme metal and meshed it with modern production.

Speaking of sound…  This record sounds great.  Extremely well-mixed – everything actually sounded great while I first played these files through my Bluetooth in my car driving through the wi-fi weakened Amish village of Nickel Mines  – and appropriately at the right levels.  You can hear the bass resonate, clear drums, the detail in the guitar work, and vocals that are traditionally “death” but also clear on top of the sound bed.  I actually prefer the mix and production in this record to their previous release.

Relapse released a video for the title track that makes the heart-ripping scene in Temple of Doom look like an episode of Calliou.  Don’t watch it at work unless you work at K-Mart, in which case nobody is around to actually see you watch it, so…

Dying Fetus, recently interviewed by Metal Insider’s own Bram Teitelman, is going to be co-headlining the 2017 Summer Slaughter tour.  The $27 that most tix are priced at is worth it to see these guys alone.

Wrong One to Fuck With is out on Friday, June 23rd on Relapse Records and can be preordered here.

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