Insidious Disease

Metal super-group side-projects can be a great thing, take Bloodbath, for example. Insidious Disease are yet another all-star band, featuring Dimmu Borgir's Silenoz, as well as Jardar (Old Man's Child), Tony Laureano (Nile, Angelcorpse), Shane Embury (Napalm Death) and Marc Grewe (ex-Morgoth). They've taken a blackened death metal approach and while their debut album, Shadowcast, doesn't have the same musical impact as Bloodbath's Nightmares Made Flesh, they have created a truly dark and brutal album. Fast, aggressive and sinister, Shadowcast is extreme in all aspects. Tracks like "Abortion Stew," "Rituals of Bloodshed" and "Value in Flesh" are all too predictable, in terms of composition, but still violent and assaulting. The songs also showcase each member's instrumental talent, particularly Embury's low-end bass groove and Grewe's variety of classic, mid-range death metal vocals. Enthusiasts of old school extreme metal should definitely check out Shadowcast, but anyone craving a little more originality should steer clear.