Every few years I come across an album so mind blowing my jaw hits the floor, my eyes roll into the back of my head and a stream of drool trickles from my mouth. The re-issue of Necrophagist’s Onset Of Putrefaction is one of those albums. Originally issued in 1999, Onset Of Putrefaction is one of the tightest and most intricate death metal releases I’ve ever heard. The scary thing about the album is almost every aspect of the album is handled by one man; Muhammed Suicmez. From the guitars, to bass, to drum programming, to vocals and lyrics, with the exception of a few bass lines by Jochen Bittmann and a guest guitar solo by Bjoern Vollmer. For the re-issue the drum programming was completely redone and the entire album was tweaked and re-mixed and winds up sounding more incredible than ever. The album now sounds like a full studio release by an early 90s Florida-based tech death metal super group, complete with a super clean and sharp production. The first thing I noticed upon listening to the re-issue is just how huge of a difference the re-programmed drums make; it literally sounds like any of the top death metal drummers behind an actual drum kit, rather than sounds programmed in on a computer, though it does sound a little rigid at times, but is definitely the best drum programming job ever done for an extreme metal release. The music on Onset Of Putrefaction is what truly makes the album though; from the wailing guitar solos, to the catchy hooks to the thick raspy vocals, this is a fine piece of tech death. This is the kind of thing you put in your collection right next to early Death releases, it’s that impressive. The songs on this album are all incredibly well written, with a thick Florida-death metal vibe to all of them and musically tighter than anything you could possibly expect, decent artwork, overall a very solid package. Also included are two demo tracks from the band’s 1995 self-titled release, recorded as a quartet with full line-up, which gives you an even better look into just how impressive Onset Of Putrefaction truly is, as even a full quartet is only 1/10th the band Muhammed is by himself. This re-issue is a must own for all fans of technical death metal. There is absolutely no excuse not to own this!

Written By: Teufel