Customer Reviews

Contaminated 5.0

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are in the know you probably already realize that Relapse is probably the best heavy label in America, if you aren't then I would recommend you purchase this immediatly. You will hear a lot of the more well-known bands from Relapse like the Dillinger Escape Plan, Neurosis, Soilent Green, Nile, Burnt By the Sun, Cephalic Carnage, Mastodon, Pig Destroyer and more, but there are a lot of things on here that caught me by surprise.

Dysrythmia- Body Destroyed Brain Intact: Sonuds kind of like King Crimson mixed with Candiria but all instrumental. I can't wait for the new album to come out.

27- Warm Hands Cold Hands: By far the most melodic band on this comp very catchy, but not in an annoying way.

Amber Asylum- Silence of the Setting Sun: Great avant-rock type band, hypnotic with great female vocals.

Alchemist- Single-Sided: I really don't know how to describe these guys, think Pink Floyd but much heavier.

Pentagram- Forever My Queen: Great stoner rock despite the name the band sounds like they could have been huge in the seventies. I know these guys have been around for a long time and I am kind of ashamed this is the first time I have heard them.

Genocide Superstars- We Are Born of Hate: Speed Punk, but also very enjoyable.

Halo- Rise: Noise, but some of the coolest noise you would ever hope to hear.

The second disc is a little harder to get into if you haven't been kind of prepared for the death metal and grindcore on there but it is still great.

Origin- Portal: A complete death metal assult of jackhammer drumming and guitar riffs.

Skinless- Mecreant: I seriously don't know if I would want a whole album of this but one track is great.

The End- Her (Inamorta): I don't know what to make of this I would probably compare them them to Dillinger Escape Plan, but not in a sense that they are ripping them off, just a very cool band.

East/West Blast Test- One: A band featuring the amazing Dave Witte and Spazz guitarist Chris Dodge and it's insane to say the least also very short so it doesn't start to get old.

Employer, Employer- One Count of Mutiny: Hardcore tinged with death metal very enjoyable.

Red Harvest- A.E.P: Kind of industrial metal, but a lot better.

Uphill Battle- Ripped Off Face: Kind of like Dillinger but much heavier one of the coolest surprises on the second disc.

Human Remains-Spoiling of Beauty: You can hear the roots of bands like Dillinger and Cephalic Carnage in this band I think they have been around since the early nineties. I think one of the member of Burnt By The Sun is in this band I think it's Dave Witte, but I can't be sure.

Nasum- Going nowhere: If you are a fan of grindcore you know these guys but if you don't they are worth listening to.

There are a few other highpoints I just don't feel like typing the whole night. However there are also a few cookie-cutter death metal bands that are just boring so I felt evn though the amount of impressive material was overwhelming I want to take a point off, but since the price of this double disc compilation is very reasonable I guess a few boring bands can be tolerated.

One great thing about independent labels is the compilations of artists on their record labels. This is actually a good way to find good new music, for me at least. It's kind of like a hard-rock equivalent of "Punk-O-Rama" (or now, they call it "Unsound"). The first of the series that I got was the seventh in the series. I was a really big Dillinger Escape Plan by them (still am), and was interested in a few of those bands. I was pleasantly surprised how some of those sounded and was also impressed with some of the stuff that didn't seem typical of their representation (Zombi and Zeke come to mind).

As for this one, there's one disc that I enjoy and one disc that I find no enjoyment in, really. I wasn't expecting much in some of these, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear the chill 27 and also melodic Amber Asylum, who are a totally different horse for the record label. In addition, I really liked the Neurosis song, which actually makes me want to get A Sun That Never Sets eventually. Nile are maybe for other people, but I personally had little taste for them. In fact, dislike is the polite way to put that one. I was kind of surprised how quickly the song on the second disc from East/West Blast Test was, are they some instrumental hardcore band or something? I liked the first few songs on there quite a bit as well.

Admittedly, I generally like my music way more melodic than this is (especially the second disc). However, I did find enjoyment in about half of the tracks so it was fine enough for me. Besides, you won't be throwing that much money away if you buy this. I got it for $6.

this is a very good compilation. band after band giving your eardrums a beatdown. i have one complaint. what was relapse thinking when it signed the band 27? oh well, at least it isn't no doubt.

Relapse Records is currently one of the best grindcore / ambient record lables out there, and with their second installment of the 'Contamiated' series the prove just that. By compiling both their more established acts (Pig Destroyer, Dying Fetus, Nile) with their newer, more unknown acts (The End, Halo, Uphill Battle) they have found a way to bring in new fans, and please the old ones. Despite having Dying Fetus and Pig Destroyer (my two favorite bands), the shining stars on this compilation are The End and Halo. The End has perfectly mixed the technicality and thought provoking abilty of Meshuggah with the vocal abiltiy and brutality of Pig Destroyer (the vocalist is a dead ringer for J.R. Hayes). Though Halo's debut was released in later 2001, they have made a large enough dent in the metal world. Why? I do not know. Halo has released some of the most talented and skillful noise ever. That trult means something when you are up against bands like Soilent Green, Nile, Blood Duster, Exhumed, Gorerotted, and Regurgitate. There is only one downside to this album; most of the material on this is already available. Oh well. If you are looking for the perfect metal compilation 'Contaminated 5.0' is what you need. Brutality, melody, ambience, and technicality all on two albums. Not to mention the two hours of excellent music for $...is a deal that is hard to beat.

This is really great cd. It has a lot of great Death Metal, Grindcore, Stoner, Doom Metal and there are other styles besides Metal. But even with them non Metal bands, this is a great cd. Along with Contaminated 3.0. Relapse is one of the best labels out there today along with Century Media Records, Nuclear Blast, Metal Blade Records and a few other great labels. If you're going to let cds contaminate your ears and mind, let this along with Contaminated 3.0 be them cds.

Everybody who has a strong heart and a demanding taste for great death, grind and hardcore will find this cheap and effective dose more than satisfying. 45 tracks,... should be more than enough convincing for you to get it. Note that the first cd has some slow stuff, but it is a welcome thing since it prepares you for the aural assuailt waiting in the second cd...totally killer!

With all 45 tracks on here, there are only like 2 weak tracks. But even then, I can listen to both cds nonstop. This isn't all metal, mind you. 27 is soothing ambient-pop and Amber Asylum is avant-garde rock. But other genres included are grindcore, death metal, stoner/doom, noise-metal, and some crusty punk. Relapse is one of my favorite metal labels, so this was a must have. Good sampler for cult followers or new-comers to the extreme music scene. Also, check out the sampler A Slight Touch of Grace on Release Entertainment (hosting bands 27 and Amber Asylum, also associated with Relapse Records) for the best in the modern minimal electronics, ambient, dark ambient, noise and avant-garde rock. The compilation is a must buy.