CREMATION “Retaliation”
Vic records
In history of Metal there were so many bands with this name that I even don’t try to count how many CREMATIONs I heard (and surely there’re/was at least double so many which I didn’t hear). Anyway, this one comes, or maybe better to say; came, from Utrecht in Netherlands. As I know “Retaliation” was released 14 years ago and band died quite soon after this fact. But there’s always possibility that I don’t know about something. Maybe we’re just witnesses of their rebirth?!? Let’s hope coz this music is what every fan of Death Metal should listen to at least once. Then I guarantee that she/he’ll fall in love with this and will come back to “Retaliation” many times!!! Well, here I could finish this review and listen to this masterpiece in peace. But no fuckin’ way!!! I’ll write more and more coz I’m malicious and also I just love to torment people… ahhahahahahaha…
Band existed ten years and except mentioned above album recorded several demos (actually four) and split with PULVERIZER. Also a full-length was released by them! It says something about labels in my opinion. I’m sure that they were looking for some before they decided to release “Retaliation”. If I’d only have money than you can be sure that I’d somehow contact guys and ask them about permission! This stuff is really excellent and I have no fuckin’ idea why nobody was interested in that (in meaning of releasing it)?!? But, as I said, I don’t know everything and besides I don’t have to understand everything. Some things just happen…
Anyway, we have here 17 songs of classic Death Metal. So that’s clear that this is re-edition ‘coz originally “Retaliation” contained only nine compositions. In my opinion it’s only better coz I can listen to it longer! By the way, Death Metal played by CREMATION was mostly in middle tempos and more in crossed American and Swedish style than in Dutch one. Well, to be honest I didn’t notice anything typical for old-school Dutch style. There’re first of all these American influences for sure here. Some fascination of old good Swedish scene I can also hear, but it’s rather subtle.
Riffs are quite often melodic in its brutal way. But we have here two guitars, so even if one of them play these melodic ones there’s always this second one in background which play as it’s in textbook – short, a little broken and rather changeless (what DOESN’T mean: monotonous!), even if they’re not the same all the time. We haven’t here some technical displays. That’s truth that some riffs show more emphatically than other ones technical abilities of lead guitarist, but they’re not in the vein “listen up how great I can play guitar”! Drums and bass are also exactly like they should be in , let’s call it, middle tempo Death Metal. There happens some speed-ups of course, but mostly guys play “calmer”. In the band played (and let’s hope again play) guitar and took care about vocal’s parts Paul Baayens who should be known to fans of this kind of Metal from band called ASPHYX. He do it in really great, brutal, viscera’s, if you know what I mean, way!!! OH… CREMATION whole ten years played in practically unchanged line-up – there was only one change on position of guitarist. Well, maybe not at al typical change coz Marc van der Koouj left the band in 1996 and Joost de Boer joined in 1999.
OK, on the end I can say only one short and maybe a little clichéd sentence: BUY OR DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fortunately I already have this album (in both versions, by the way) and can savor it whenever I’ll want and I’ll surely want to do it very often!
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