CONSUMING IMPULSE

"Consuming Impulse" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Dutch death metal act Pestilence. The album was released in the US through Roadrunner Records in December 1989 (on Christmas day no less) while Europe had to wait until January 1990 for their fix of brutality. The band´s debut album "Malleus Maleficarum (1988)" is quite a raw and brutal thrash metal release, but it´s on "Consuming Impulse" the band step fully into death metal territory...

...there are still nods toward thrash metal like on most early death metal releases but the absolutely bestial growling vocals courtesy of vocalist Martin Van Drunen effectively erase any doubt that this isn´t a fullblown death metal release. Van Drunen is one of most distinct sounding growling vocalists on the scene. While his vocal style certainly is both brutal and at times deep (yet still intelligible), he has a desperate hysterical edge to his delivery that you don´t hear very often. People often have a "love him or hate him" type relationship with him because of his vocal style, but I think his vocals are one of the things that set early Pestilence apart from other death metal acts from that time.

The instrumental part of the music is tight and raw (but at times surprisingly sophisticated). New lead guitarist Patrick Uterwijk (who replaced Randy Meinhard after the release of "Malleus Maleficarum (1988)". Meinhard went on to form Sacrosanct) has brought a new dimension to the band´s music although we´re still for the most part talking screaming whammy bar abuse and generally fast paced soloing. The material are consistent in quality, catchy and well written and the 37:24 minutes of playing time fly by in no time. As all tracks are great it´s hard to pick highlights but the über brutal "Out of the Body" does stand out as something special to my ears. One of the "classic" death metal tracks from the early years of death metal and of course a classic in the band´s repetoire too. "The Trauma" is a personal favorite of mine and could be mentioned as a highlight too.

"Consuming Impulse" is packed in a powerful and raw sound production that suits the music perfectly. So just about everything work in the band´s favor on "Consuming Impulse" and it is rightfully considered a seminal European death metal release by many. A 4 star (80%) is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)