With a moniker like Offending and vocalist named “”Jesus the Butcher”, there’s no real surprise that France’s Offending play death metal. What’s surprising is that even with the above elements, Human Concept is a pretty solid death metal album.

Much like label mates Fleshrot or Porkfarm, Offending aren’t doing anything new, but they are doing it well. Balancing skillfully brutally with actual songs structures and a chunky presentation for some reason, Offending remind me a little of Iniquity and Sinister/Houwister, and that’s not a bad thing. The eleven songs on display are not going to light up the metal critics end of year lists for 2010, buts it’s an album fans of death metal should check out.

Human Concept is everything you’d want from a death metal record; a 41 minute assault of pinch harmonics, scatter shot time changes, huge grooves, burly blast beats and cavernous roars all delivered with skill and conviction as well as pleasingly old school death metal song titles like “Pandemic Suicide”, “Destruction Of The Human Spirit” and “Mental Corrosion”; Nothing to forcedly intellectual but not comically gore soaked.

No one song really stands out, but all 11 have something to like. Whether its the subtle melodies of “Pandemic Suicide”, rumbling lurch and stagger that starts “This Vicious Mind”, choppy blasts of “Without Anything”, or ambitious, nearly eight minute title track, everything is implemented perfectly without forcing any one element. The whole affair comes across as a very natural, incredibly competent, veteran release rather than a debut from a band with only two demos in the last 5 years (though all the members appear to have served in numerous obscure underground French acts). The only thing missing is a monolithic, slower chugging track, though there are a few moments here and there (i.e “Destruction of the Human Spirit”, “Lesion C”).

Another great find from Deepsend Records, this should definitely hold fans over until Benighted their shit together.

[Visit the band's website]

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