With kiddie pride and a prolific history of drunken dumbness, comes Brian Forgue’s Syphilic.  Formerly applying his howler monkey impressions to Gutrot and Mutilated,  Brian is certainly the genuine article.  A one time one-man-band reaches out to a real bassist, keeps the programmed drums on insane, and does his fuckin’ thang on vocals and guitar.  Look out now.

I first saw Brian in a mugshot.  My friend sent me a link to a mugshot site, and I was amazed.  Fucked up photo after fucked up photo had me convulsing with amusement.  Then the guy with the Cryptopsy neck tat shows up.  Holy shit, that guy is fucked up!  I later discover that this is Brian in one of his gloriously pickled states.

Syphilic is extra brutal.  If the drums were real I could easily end up with a little tip juice saturating my shorts.  Moving past that, I am thoroughly pleased.  The vocals are dredging the very colon of old pointy tail.  The evolution of inhuman gutturals have been proliferated with this contribution.  The occasional layering of vocals reminds me of Phlegeton’s approach from Human Mincer and  Wormed. This is sick shit.  The cover art will convince you of that.

The drums are not organic, but Forgue knows how to do some serious programming.  Relentless pummeling of digitized skins and cymbals  meet the ear in a surprisingly pleasant way.  The sound quality of the drums are very good.  In fact, if you act now, Mr. Forgue will send you a copy of his drum software, with a CD or t-shirt purchase, absolutely free (RIP FZ).  That’s awfully nice, isn’t it?  Check the Syphilic MySpace page for instant savings.

The bass player, Brian Baxter, holds down the fort with an effortless feel.  This is quite a feat since the music is so relentless, chaotic, and  technical at times.  I have to hand it to a guy like this.  He just upped Syphilic’s ante, and it’s piled high and deep. When I heard Syphilic’s 2007 release, Erotishock Therapy, I knew there was something seriously devastating in development.  The problem was not really the programmed drum parts, but the programmed bass.  It was quite painful to be honest.  Real bass playing adds massively to the overall feel,  sound, and legitimacy.

Finally, we come to the guitar.  Forgue delivers chops and song writing ability that are so rarely paired.  His riffs and phrasing are excellent, and sometimes layered.  You won’t be left feeling like you just listened to another guy’s basement creation (even though that’s what it is).  The jack-of-all-trades thing is sort of happening here, but it is so far above the average metal guy’s wet dream, it’s ridiculous.

This is brutal death metal.  Love it or leave it.  One song doesn’t sound entirely different from the next, but I don’t care.  21 minutes of relentless aggression is cool with me.  Oh, and if you’ve been pining for some good audio clips laced with your metal, hold tight.  Beavis and Butthead, Something About Mary, and some angry black guy are just the beginning of the fun you’ll find.  This is a great EP, and  I give it the “fuck yes” seal of approval.  Thanks Kin.

Review bySilky Bravado