Prisoner : '"PUTRID | OBSOLETE"

 Catching up with albums I missed earlier in the year so this Industrial-tinged crust band is up as they have a great deal of hype behind them. However, it makes me wonder what they have going for them that we have heard from bands like Inerth, Deadform, and to some extent Chat Pile. The answer is that these guitars' production is dialed in so that they have maximum chug factor in place. Though going into the second song, the question will focus on their songwriting and less on the impressive sound they have dialed in. Since anyone can capture a sound with the right producer, not everyone can write a song. The jury is still out after the second song as it thrashes with more of a crusty punk fury. They achieve the feel and sound of this kind of music but nothing new is brought to the table. 

The third song is more of a crusty death metal pummeling that offer little in terms of melody. Instead, it just punishes your ears. Maybe you are into that sort of thing, but ear punishment without hooks is not something I am going to give a great deal of repeat listens to. "Shroud" that follows has a little more atmosphere to it but mainly attacks like older Ulcerate. The riffs are woven together in a way that makes a little more sense. "Leaden Tomb" is pretty much a death metal song with some touches of industrial leading into it. 

If you are going to rip off Ministry "Filth Pig" is a great song to borrow from. The bulk of the song is more of a sludged-out affair. "Entity" just kind of blasted past me with its cavernous death metal blitz. It's all thunder and little ambiance to create dynamics, one slower riff that is more deliberate, and their drummer is skilled, but death metal drummers have to be.  There is a cool more hammering riff at the end, but the rule here is 'cool riffs do not a good song make". 

The last it's song takes its time finding its footing as it builds the mood they should have been working into the rest of the album. When the double bass comes it, it's pretty much a similar brand of death metal that we have already heard from them. I will round this down to an 8, as they do hit some strong points are dark and heavy, but need more dynamics for my tastes, though for dark apocalyptic death metal they are good at what they do , but certainly not the Best of anything.