Benediction: Organised Chaos [reissue]

This album is traditionally seen as a step down for Benediction. Even though I also don't like it as much as Grind Bastard, it is not as bad as some listeners might suggest. Throughout my tour through the Benediction reissues these last few weeks, I keep thinking that the band is more a success than failure, that it weathered the apparent decline of commercial metal in the 1990s by staying true to the style and substance of death metal. Sure, some of their efforts were more successful than others, but imagine what this decade would have been like if bands like Metallica resisted the impulse to record their lighter, less interesting, fare. I'm shooting at an easy target by bringing up 90s Metallica, but I admire Benediction for keeping the music heavy and aggressive when things were pushing in other directions and the market was following suit.

With Organised Chaos, the band introduced Dave Hunt as its new singer after Dave Ingram's departure. Hunt had the unfortunate job of filling Ingram's shoes, not an easy task. Moreover, Hunt's voice brings a hardcore style to a band that built its reputation as a solid death metal act. The album starts well with "Suicide Rebellion," a track that kicks up the band's thrashier side. After that, things slow down a little as we tour through a series of dark tracks that explore the minds of various madmen. Check out "Diary of a Killer," "Don't Look in the Mirror" and "I Am the Disease" to see what I mean. These aren't bad tracks though they are as dark as they come. I won't suggest this is a forgotten masterpiece—it is certainly not as good as some of the band's earlier efforts—but it may be worth another listen and this reissue is a good way to rediscover it.

Track Listing:
1. Suicide Rebellion
2. Stigmata
3. Suffering Feeds Me
4. Diary of a Killer
5. The Temple of Set
6. Nothing on the Inside
7. Easy Way to Die
8. Don't Look in the Mirror
9. This Graveyard Earth
10. Charon
11. I Am the Disease
12. Organised Chaos

Added: March 5th 2016
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1455
Language: english

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