I would fathom to say that any person, over the age of 35, who has a limited range in terms of music, will find any form of death metal to be “scary.” Most of the time, it is because of the vocals, where the usual comment is, “Why would you want to listen to music where you cannot understand what the singer is saying?” My usual response to this are two sections to the lyrics of a Frank Sinatra song entitled “The Coffee Song.”

…You date a girl and find out later
She smells just like a percolator
Her perfume was made right on the grill
Why they could percolate the ocean in Brazil…

…And when their ham and eggs need savor
Coffee ketchup gives ‘em flavor
Coffee pickles way outsell the dill
Why they put coffee in the coffee in Brazil…

The oft loved, icon of all guidos everywhere, seems to make no sense here. Why would I want to hear this? She smells like a percolator? It seems to me that ol’ blue eyes was banging the cashier at 7-11. My point is usually made, followed by awkward silence, and then a discussion begun with, “So, you listen to Metallica?”

I mention all of this because I have finally found the most aurally disturbing album in the history of death metal. I can remember days when I was the designated driver certain weekends and my well-baked friends (not fans of death metal) would forbid certain albums to be played during their ride home because they were “too scary.” On this list were (with actual given reasons in parentheses):

- Deicide – Once Upon The Cross (riffs too Satanic)
- Devourment – Molesting the Decapitated (repetitive heavy riffing causes nausea)
- Drawn and Quartered – To Kill Is Human (just too damn heavy)
- Splattered Cadaver – Merciless Butchery (bass sounds like standing in the middle of a fire)
- Embalmer – There Was Blood Everywhere (the screaming)

Although my friends new little about the genre, they were well aware of these albums. Ironically, I agreed with them. There was something about these albums that made them disturbing, from the vocals to the style of music itself. There is a lot of death metal out there but few made one say, “Damn! That is some nasty shit!”

Infester‘s only album, To The Depths… In Degradation, is a lesson for all. This is some of the most disturbing and upsetting music I have heard. Firstly, the vocals are horrifying – deep gruff growls to throaty shouts to mesmerizing shrieks, Jason Oliver had to be one bad-ass dude who had to have ordered like this at the Wendy’s drive-thru at least once. At times, it sounds like there is a small man emerging from his chest. During other times, he sounds so pissed that I could imagine him actually knocking the head off of another human being with a single punch.

The guitar riffs vary from nasty brutal madness (some nice slow mosh and seemingly classic grind) to blackish shredding. Sprinkle in some Dusk/Evoken/Ceremonium-style doom and it makes for some nasty stuff. A “fuzzy” bass adds depth to the music with the occasional organ thrown in for atmosphere. My favorite tracks are the title track, “Chamber of Reunion” (the part at the 4:30 mark is incredible), and “Mephetic Exhumation.”

After some research, I had found that the album had been linked to some negative “press” after being accused of having racist overtones and a swastika in the band photo (could not find it in the photo). The band members refuted this in various interviews as well as the idea of being racist. The one reference uses the word “ebony” but in a song about shit, with the obvious connection to a much different type of brown (or black depending on what you ate). If it was obvious and intentional, I would not have even given it a chance but I have a hard time seeing it even after reading all the lyrics (for the first time in my career). I also doubt Amazon.com and the iTunes store would offer it if there was any sort of problem. In essence, this may be one of the reasons that this album has fallen by the wayside.

Some of the members of the band have moved on to different bands such as the Meat Shits and Drawn and Quartered but none have come close to replicating this monster of an album in their new bands. Many of you will enjoy it for nostalgic reasons. Many of you will question why you listen to such lame shit. Some of you will agree that few, if any, albums can match the intensity and horrific nature of this album. Some of you think I am an asshole and am a ridiculous character for thinking this is heavy. At least we can then agree that this is the heaviest album to emerge from Seattle. And if you can name a heavier band from Seattle (and not Drawn and Quartered because the drummer is now their drummer – conflict of interest), then I will mail you a granola bar, a Soundgarden CD, a picture of a Subaru Forester, and an umbrella for your Seattle starter kit.

Review byDouble Ds