4.0 out of 5 stars
Highly derivative but I like it -- 3 1/2 stars, August 1, 2010
This review is from: Patrons of the Dark (Audio CD)
In 1991, death metal was at its very peak and two particular bands, both hailing from New York, Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation, established the benchmark for brutality with their respective releases from that year and soon created a wave of imitators in the underground.
Enter Metairie, Louisiana's Paralysis. After recording two demos, the band made the trek all the way up to Palatine, Illinois in July of 1992 to record their debut full-length "Patrons of the Dark" for Grind Core International, a death metal label located in nearby Des Plaines.
The main influence here seems to be Suffocation's "Effigy of the Forgotten," and as much as I was ready to dismiss Paralysis as mere pretenders to the throne I have to say that I gave it a couple more listens and I can't help but liking it. If you like Suffocation from that era, then you are bound to like Paralysis. While Studio 53, where this was recorded, didn't boast the crystalline sound of Morrisound in Tampa where the two aforementioned bands had worked, the production here is still good and clear. This is very brutal, underground sounding death/grind and I really like the riffing on "Goredawn" and the blasting drums on tracks like "Mausoleum" and "Gates Reflected." Cool cover art and logo (the latter by vocalist Ben Falgoust) as well.
This was the sole album by Paralysis but Falgoust went on to form Soilent Green, who were eventually signed by Relapse, and if you like Soilent Green or just brutal and guttural underground death metal from the early '90s in general then you are bound to find something to enjoy here.
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