Derogatory is from California and play a mid 90’s Floridian style of death metal that is quite good. Not quite up to par with the likes of labelmates, Skeletal Remains, but still kick ass nonetheless.

After an instrumental intro “Into the Depth of Time”, comes out the starting gates and I’m instantly reminded of classic Morbid Angel, Brutality and Deicide. The blast beats though leave a bit to be desired though. They’re sloppy/not tight and this creates some of the songs to sound messy, which brings the album down a notch or two for me. The 2 minute mark to the song, though, features a fabulous James Murphy inspired guitar solo. Song has some great riffing that is catchy. “Cryopreservation” begins with a pace that is well suited for this band. Nice mid pace crunchiness, than it bursts into a sloppy blast beat and I was a bit let down again. The mid paced section to this tune is ferocious with some good drumming during this part.

The title track has a killer bass guitar moment and the vocals sound outstanding on this particular track. About halfway through the song is a killer Obituary influenced part. “Foretold in My House of Seance” begins with a vintage 90’s like bass guitar section before the songs kicks into high gear. This is a fun trip walking down memory lane and the band has the Floridian tone down pretty well. The band tries to fit a few too many time changes into their structures. The 90’s Floridian bands benefited from memorable songs that were not too complicated and the brutality was in creating scorching riffs while not going into overkill with numerous rhythm changes. Derogatory needs to scale back their approach in placing the kitchen sink in their songs.

The drummer also needs to take some lessons to tighten up his blast beats or else he risks loosing his job behind the kit. I’m not trying to be mean here, just realistic, since this band has a promising future. The cd contains pictures, lyrics and a cool Dan Seagrave inspired album cover. The cover, though, is a bit blurry and I wonder what the hell happened at the printing plant. Whatever the case may be, Above All Else is a real good debut album, from a young band, that will hopefully be around for future releases.

[Visit the band's website]

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