Customer Reviews

Exploiting Dysfunction

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Why is it that Relapse keeps churning out great band after great band without a dud among them? Any fan of extreme music should definitely purchase this hyperactive compendium of dope-addled catastrophe AT ONCE. I saw Cephalic live two weeks ago and they capture their recorded insanity on stage verbatim. Sporting a dual vocal attack, these Colorado spazzes take you through every subject of social condition, from the Columbine shootings to the avant-stupid film "Gummo". Their lyrically stoned ramblings offer a THC-induced perception on life's ridiculous parade of stupidity, particularly in "Observation to the Anihilation of Planet Earth". Aliens capture a serial killer and he fathers their offspring for takeover. Classic stuff. Buy it now. There are two bonus tracks out of the 66 featured (at least 40 tracks are dead silent).

Cephalic Carnage was pushed pretty hard by thier label Relapse Records, and with good reason. After seeing them live I purchased the album. This was my top pick or issue to come out in the year 2000. I think it is that good and original. This is the cd I listened to the most last year. It is very diversified in nature and can be listened to over and over.

The sound of Cephalic Carnage is very heavy. Category-wise it is death metal or grindcore. Very start and stopish with wierd interludes and monster riffs. The vocals vary but are mostly harsh and deep guttoral. The band manages to kepp a heavy tone, without sounding too busy within the music. The guitars won't be playing the same riffs over and over throughout the song.

Some of the track listings are simply short music bits, movie tracks and some other surprises. The song's lyrics are pretty varied dealing with all sorts of ideas from the merger of marijuana and mice to aliens to school killings. My favorites include Hybrid, the lenghthy Exploiting Dysfunction, and Gracias. Gracias is simply a list of other bands named/sung/growled and set to Cephalic Carnage's sound. There is a great deal of variety throughout the album, but it manages to flow nicely. Unless you are watching you cannot tell if there was a track change upon first listen.

Fans of better known and less known death metal bands should be happy with this. If you own Carcass, Morbid Angel, Dying Fetus, Deicide, Six Feet Under, etc, you need to come up with the cash to purchase this album. Exploiting Dysfunction is less uniform; it does not sound the same through and through. It is very heavy, but a little more experimental, fun, intense, or just flat out wierd. Don't let that scare or intimidate you though.

This album is worth you time and money

Cephalic Carnage is pushed pretty hard by thier label Relapse Records, and with good reason. This was my top pick or issue to come out in the year 2000. I think it is that good and that original. This is the cd I listened to the most last year. It is very diversified in nature and can be listened to over and over.

The sound of Cephalic Carnage is very heavy. Category-wise it is death metal or grindcore. Very start and stopish with wierd interludes and monster riffs. The vocals vary but are mostly harsh and deep guttoral. The band manages to keep a heavy tone, without sounding too busy within the music. The guitars won't be playing the same riffs over and over throughout the song.

Some of the track listings are simply short music bits, movie tracks and some other surprises. The song's lyrics are pretty varied dealing with all sorts of ideas from the merger of marijuana and mice to aliens to school killings. My favorites include Hybrid, the lenghthy Exploiting Dysfunction, and Gracias. Gracias is simply a list of other bands named/sung/growled and set to Cephalic Carnage's sound. There is a great deal of variety throughout the album, but it manages to flow nicely. Unless you are watching you cannot tell if there was a track change upon first listen.

Fans of the more well known and less known death metal bands should be very happy with this. If you own Carcass, Morbid Angel, Dying Fetus, Deicide, Six Feet Under, etc, you need to come up with the cash to purchase this album. The album is less uniform; it does not sound the same through and through. It is very heavy, but a little more experimental, fun, intense, or just flat out wierd. Don't let that scare or intimidate you though.

This album is worth your time and money.

I really was excited to hear this album after all i read about this band, and after hearing the song lucid interval off the contamination 5.0 sampler. Well, this is a kick a** album, but contrary to what everyone says, this isn't their debut. Their debut album is called "conforming to abnormality", and it was released on the headf***er records label in 1998. Luckily, it can be bought on [...], but it's a limited reissure, so buy while you can.

Back to the album, first song "hybrid" is a very complex song, with many tempo changes and a jazz-tinged, almost psychedelic, spoken word passage.The rest of the album is just as crazy, with samples from movies and electronic noises scattered throughout the album. One has a sample from a Joe Pesci movie, talking about sticking ice picks in something, but the height of the weirdness comes with the album closing 15 minute title track, with talk of,obviously, abnormalities. everything from deformity to incest. Near the end of the song, there's a woman talking about splattering someone's brains on the wall, and 2 people shouting at each other, after that, there's LOUD feedback noises for about the last 5 mintues. there are also hidden tracks at the end, with a sample of homer simpson saying "you are gay". A very funny way to end a very adventurous and to a certain extent, creepy album. If you like death/grind with a twist, buy this.

Sorry I can't come up with a more eloquent review title, but I think 'Whoooaahh!' is a pretty accurate description of the experience of hearing 'Exploiting Dysfunction' for the first time. Imagine the meanest, punkiest grindcore you can -- Pig Destroyer, I guess, or the less robotic Berserker tracks. Then add all manner of treatments, effects, breakdowns, twists and turns until you don't know which way you're facing. This is part mathcore, part Melvins-in-experimental-mode, part Sonic Youth dissonance, part lounge jazz (yes, I even meant the last part). Grindcore or extreme metal 'purists' might balk at many parts of it, but there's no denying the musical intelligence and daring that has gone into this record -- without in any way sacrificing the essential grindcore fury. Excellent stuff, without a single dull second. Highly recommended.

Cephalic Carnage drop state of the art bombs of schizophrenic death/grind unto the ears of the unsuspecting. Dare to comprehend Cephalic's self-proclaimed Rocky Mountain hydro-grind.

This is one of the most surprisingly great cd's I have heard this year. "Eploiting Disfunction" is jam packed w/ top of the line grind but also offers plenty of strange atmospheric parts and even jazz/blues oriented riffs to add variety and keep you tuned in. This album is amazingly original and loaded w/ talent. I have found that I am compelled to listen to it often.

Cephalic Carnage have done it again with their new one "Exploiting Dysfunction" which perfectly captures this finely tuned engine's ferocity! listen to them on primitiverecordings.com/radio or check out their official site at cephaliccarnage.com

Amazing album and I just wanted to put up the correct tracklisting in case anyone cared.

1. Hybrid 04:17
2. Driven to Insanity 01:06
3. Rehab 05:49
4. Observer to the Obliteration of Planet Earth 03:12
5. On Six 00:06
6. Gracias 05:02
7. Cryptosporidium 04:27
8. The Ballad of Moon 01:50
9. 9 Feet of Smoke 03:13
10. Warm Hand on a Cold Night (A Tale of Onesomes) 00:11
11. Invertus Indica (The Marijuana Convictions) 04:43
12. Molestandos Plantas Muertos! 01:11
13. Eradicate Authority 05:52
14. Paralyzed by Fear 01:38
15. Exploiting Dysfunction 15:26

Cephalic Carnage is a young band and another of the original grindcore bands in Relapse's roster. However, this band is certainly musically mature. The riffs range from technical Death Metal massacres to Mr. Bungle-type "circus" riffs. The music stops and erupts from jazzy funk passages to pure grindcore hyper blasting. All is supported by a double vocal attack with Lenzig's low gutteral vocals and Jawsh's screeching black metal spew. Best examples of the ensemble are shown in "Rehab" in the middle of the song for a small set of brutal vocal exchange. ...a few standouts like alien abductions and community pollution. (the awesome Cryptosporidium, one of my favourites from the album) The drumming is superb and varied. The guitars sound a little "fuzzy" and may lack in heaviness but this helps in the originality factor. In short, this is a must-listen for a self-respecting fan of original yet balls to the wall metal. This will drives itself and the listener crazy!