Dying Fetus - History Repeats

I am not sure of the purpose of this EP release, maybe it is an end of contract obligation or a chance for the band to have some fun without any of their own creative input, but this is a release featuring 6 cover songs and one new track from East Coast USA’s Dying Fetus, a band whom can comfortably claim to be a major influence in the brutal death metal scene, a band that have developed through the 1990’s to become what they are today.

Concentrating on what seems to be a more grind orientated tribute, ‘Unchallenged Hate’ is a cool pick from Napalm’s ‘FETO’ album, but the one I really like is the Broken Hope cover ‘Gorehog’ from the first digitally recorded death metal album ‘Swamped in Gore’ released in 1991. This is really a stand out style and number; you can clearly hear some of where Dying Fetus gained some of their masterstrokes from. Their take on Bolt Thrower’s ‘Warmaster’ album opener ‘Unleashed Upon Mankind’ even takes the Dying Fetus sound to classic Coventry/Birmingham territory adding their own markers here and there. The exclusive Dying Fetus track ‘Rohypnol’ is only a mere 44 seconds, taking grindcore to their heart, but that’s about it really, there is nothing really much to say about it other than that the spirit of grind is alive!

Once again, I am not sure of the benefit or purpose of this release, it’s nice to hear a different interpretation to classic death metal songs, but Dying Fetus are genre leaders and their own masters in their own right and I am really not sure what to make if this effort, I certainly am not a fan of cover albums, but that may not be the case for everyone.

  1. Fade into Obscurity (cover Dehumanized)
  2. Unchallenged Hate (cover Napalm Death)
  3. Gorehog (cover Broken Hope)
  4. Rohypnol
  5. Unleashed Upon Mankind (cover Bolt Thrower)
  6. Twisted Truth (cover Pestilence)
  7. Born in a Casket (cover Cannibal Corpse)