band - Butchered CD - (self-titled)

12.2.06

Remember back in the old days when your mother threw out all of your KISS .45's (or maybe Metallica cassettes if you're my age), and explaining it was the "Devil's music?" Well, the band we're interviewing today makes KISS sound like Mister Rogers on prozac singing bubble gum pop. You're probably saying...."ok, so they're metal." Ummm, yeah.....they're metal - about as fucking metal as fucking metal can be. Your mother would faint if she heard just a soundclip from these guys. I had the pleasure of sitting down and talking to guitarist/lead vocalist Bub and lead guitarist Richard from the band Butchered yesterday, and they were kind enough to bring me a cd (which, they'll have to pry from my cold dead hands if they want back-ha). The three of us (minus their drummer Brandon) sat and listened to the ten-track debut album start to finish, and I must say, they're probably one the best metal bands I've heard from this area. The album kicks off without warning, and right into "Insides Jarred Out", a flury of fast and catchy guitar riffs and pounding drums, and doesn't let up throughout the entire cd. Tracks "Pulled to Pieces", "The Ghastly Bone Discovery", and "Grotesquely Slain" follow thereafter, continuing to deliver the brutality while keeping your interest peeked throughout the songs. No acoustic ballads here my friends, although track five, "Hatred for Humanity", a very cool heavy instrumental, is about as far as the band strays from the death metal norm. "Defiled Face", another 'deathblow' in the group's arsenal, features more of drummer Brandon Reeder's phenomenal chops and Richard Cluck's superior guitar work. Quite perhaps the signature track of Butchered, is "Pitchfork Necrophilia", a song and story that embodies ideas that which the group strives for the most - to horrify and disgust everyone that's within a quarter-mile of this cd. The cd closes with more thrashing on the tracks"Hollowed Bodies Burning", "Abrasive Torment", and "Lurking in the Darkness", of which none are songs to merely fill space. There's death metal sustenance throughout this entire demo, and it's hard to get off once you begin the ride. Bub's vocal ability astounds me, as he derives from one of his primary influences, the band Six Feet Under. A low-pitched, steady growl vocal almost seems as though he's the band's narrator, not a lead vocalist. Though, you can never understand the lyrics- who the hell needs lyrics for a metal band anyway? I must admit- it would be interesting, to say the least, to read the song lyrics, because every track tells a story, and almost all the stories end in bloody dismemberment or death.....the bread and butter of any death metal band. This cd would probably be entirely too much for the "average person", however if you're into metal, I highly recommend you keep an eye out for these guys. Keep posted to BANNEDPROMOTIONS.com for more info on the band Butchered. ( BANNEDPROMOTIONS.com/BUTCHEREDREVIEW )

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