Festering Saliva play very melodic atmospheric gothic Metal…. no no…I was just kidding of course (couldn´t resist, sorry!)… they are the most brutal live Death Metal band around here in Bavaria at the moment!
And they have sent in their un-mastered demo of their upcoming release “Realm of the forgotten”, which got a hold of me from the very beginning, so this is our “Demo of the month” for July 2005.

Already this demo version has the best of production quality, so if you get hold of the real album soon, you can expect a proper album with excellent sound quality.
But let´s get to the content:
If you already know their last release “The Isle of Nightmares” then you´ll notice that with this new piece “Realm of the forgotten” the band has taken one step forward in evolution (and the Intro of the album will astonish you right away, you´ll see… you are confronted with the naked truth about our world today, that`s all I will tell you for now). This new album is not just brutal noise anymore, but it´s a pure stunning Death Metal experience (with a little thrashy touch though). Those guys really know their shit (and if you´ve read my concert report about them, then you will anyway know that I really adore Festering Saliva as a live band … they have the quality to compete with good live bands like Vomitory, they really should get the possibility to tour outside of Germany).

Right the first song “Military song” starts ultra heavy with highly precise guitar riffs running over a technical drumming, crowned by the growling vocals of Roland, who has the most perfect voice for Death Metal that you can imagine. Even if he would sing clean vocals (which he doesn`t on this album), it probably sounds like growling too, because his natural singing voice is just so very deep-pitched (which sounds fantanstic to my ears… and fits perfectly into the brutality of the songs). In my imagination I can already see the band perform the new tracks in front of a freaked out, heavily headbanging crowd… can´t await to see them live again!
Back to the album. Of course you won´t find any lyrical concept except destruction and the failing of mankind, and no artistic compositions like on Viking Metal CDs… but therefore throughout each listen you will discover something new, and the album is full of interesting hooks.
BUT… there are TWO exceptions in two of the interludes between 2 songs, which surprise with an acoustic part (some soft guitar tones, one of them only supported by whispering female vocals) which is very melodic and seems to be almost sentimental between all the brute force of the rest of the album … but these parts just last for half a minute or something, before without any compromising the merciless stuff breaks through again. Ultra fat bass and guitar riffing, grunt-along choruses, angry drums… and as I already said…vocals that would even impress the Six-Feet-Under fans!
And I just LOVE the end of the album… you once again for a short while hear the soft melody from the two interludes, before an emotionless computer voice tells you just this: “Enemies destroyed”.
Just make sure to check this band out, if you´re into Death (or Thrash) Metal… you won´t repent it!

Recommended tracks: “Drowning in a pond of fear” and “Military song”.

Rating: 8 out of 10 points                                                                   Review by Twilightheart

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