ALBUM OF THE DAY: THE BERZERKER, ANIMOSITY
It’s a little bit of a mind-bender to look at The Berzerker’s works as a whole. The nitty-gritty, two-minute long grind tracks of their first three releases are almost a world apart from the busy songs and stricter definition apparent on The Reawakening. Animosity, the band’s 2007 release, fits right in between the two, showcasing both the band’s earlier and later styles.
Animosity isn’t the chaotic, full-speed-ahead trainwreck that Dissimulate or the band’s self-titled album were. Not every song is a brief grindfest of blast beats competing with Luke Kenny’s vocals. There are a more mid-tempo songs, and the band’s focus feels shifted away from grindcore in general. The last track, “Lonely World,” can’t be described as anything but a slog- – a crawling, dragging-speed trek through a musical swamp.
But The Berzerker are still quite clearly a grind-oriented band, as demonstrated by fast-paced songs like “The Cancer” and “Weapons of War.” The technicality and song structure haven’t been upped to the levels they reached on The Reawakening, though listening to “Heavily Medicated” provides a hint of things to come. Riff-wise, Animosity isn’t groundbreaking — but it’s more complex than most of the band’s earlier material, and infectiously catchy sections are scattered throughout the album. The riffs have more staying power than both the band’s simpler older material and their overprocessed and overcomplicated final release.
Jason V.’s guitars are a swarm of sharp tremolo riffs, cascading over the lower-end grooving sections. The insane percussion is driven by a drummer who is literally literal — as on some earlier releases, Animosity wasn’t recorded with a live skinsman. Computer-generated blasts programmed by Luke shred the songs into frenzy. Everything is backed by the band’s characteristic distorted, fat synth beats.
Kenny’s vocals are one of the most captivating features on Animosity. They’re aggressively rhythmic and truly feel like another instrument, shifting from gut-wrenching lows to demonic highs. The frenetic rush of his voice & words keeps songs like “The Cancer” lively; his assonant grunts of “the cancer grows and spreads, it spreads until there’s nothing left” make the song approach breakneck speed. The lyrics are surprisingly intelligible, words and phrases sticking out quite audibly amidst the pandemonium.
Clocking in at just under twenty-nine minutes, Animosity is barely longer than most EPs. Somehow, it doesn’t seem short at all. Maybe it’s the raw energy of the album — it feels like far more than twenty-nine minutes of music actually happens over the course of the release. Every second is packed, be it with the frenetic rushing of blast & synth beats, the band’s trademark sound clips, or the abrasive howl of Luke Kenny’s voice. If nothing else, I can always count on Animosity for its energy and anger (both lyrically and musically). It’s always been one of my go-to albums when I’m pissed, an unstoppable machine propelled by its evil atmosphere and rage-filled lyrics. And for that, it’s one of the heaviest releases in metal.
-DM
