It’s quite hard to categorize this album. A first song ‘intro’, that is a little pointless, and then the rest of the record is mainly melodic death metal with thrash every now and then, and pure brutal almost grind death metal. (intro of Pray ‘n Burn for exemple.) The rest of the piece is very much inspired by Cannibal Corpse, with very heavy hammer, then typing parts, reminding me a lot of ‘Perverse Suffering’, on the album ‘Vile’. The tracks are never very long and it’s true that Your own decay clearly puts efficiency forward.

On other tracks, there are many strange samples, (sometimes creating a strange ambiance, like the baby carriage on ‘Mutilation never enough’) but some are just plain predictable (the tolling bells and the sound of water on the Intro, same remark for the female moaning on ‘Electronic Porn’ that I find on all these records). Also, the djembe breaks on ‘Feed me’ are very dispensable. However it is to be said that most of the compositions on this records are pleasant, and varied. Very good riffs and the drums do their job. The whole is in the end quite fun like ‘The waiting list’, one of the more polished pieces on the disc, with a nice solo, slow and melodic.

When it comes to sound, the guitars are pushed forward in the mix, especially with regards to the bass that is almost not heard at all most of the time. Most of the time, the snare drum is pushed too far back and resonates too much. It’s actually a shame that the production isn’t actually all that great.

The track ‘For Freedom’ demonstrates mainly shouted vocals, alternating with whispers, moving away from death metal, to come back to the style in the end. Let’s take note of the efforts made by Lord Pelthor and Jérôme Hell (no comment …), the two guitarists of Your own Decay , to come up with very clean guitar parts. Therefore you can play the record over and over, you won’t get bored. Your own decay delivers a very electro Outro, offering a bizarre and experimental ending to the record.

This album is on the whole very unequal with some good songs, among which Recollection, The waiting list or Pray ‘n Burn but unfortunately some other tracks that are a lot less inspired Once again this can be explained by the relative youth of this band. However I’m wondering about this band’s capacity to emerge on the scene. You have to remember that this band’s member’s age is an average of 30 years old, and i’ve ever been a believer in late coming outs. But don’t get me wrong, this isn’t too bad. It’s just that these guys need to find their own sound, and more personality.

written by Audrey Dujardin

Playing time: 35.57