Animals Killing People. You can't miss the imagery with such a moniker. Created by two members of
Purulent and
Pustulated, two landmarks in the American
Brutal Death Grind scene, AKP did not wait long to obtain a near cult status among the genre’s aficionados.
Where the vast majority of bands in this genre tend to try and impress us with their knowledge on forensics (sic) or their perverted passions, AKP follow yet another path: vegetarianism. Obviously it’s nothing new even in
Metal since well before them
Carcass had paved the way and more recently
Cattle Decapitation. Still, here the guys are not in for Poetry 101 and lyrics are rather crude. Where others defend those poor animals, AKP intends to avenge them. Whether it be hunting, meat consumption or even corridas, AKP is to this day the most brutal spokesperson for organizations like PETA.
Musically AKP delivers their first EP with the pluses and minuses of a first production. If you’re into well overproduced Death
Metal… this stuff is not for you. The mixing in this recording is somewhat approximate. Vocals, as in let’s-the-clean-the-toilet-vocals, take the main spot, closely followed by the drums. Those are real drums ok, but still they get that 'high bells' sound that most bands in the genre affectionate. Should you enjoy Death
Metal with old-school conventions, you’re in for a surprise. The ‘strings’ section is all buried within the mix and totally left in the background which gives a sense of confusion because of the numerous breaks and other riffing tortures are drowned in this cesspool of exhilarating violence.
Yet these minuses do not constitute a major obstacle and fans of
Brodequin and other similar joyous bands should easily find their lot in this EP. Because, do I even need to mention it, Death
Metal is spelt nowadays in many various ways and bands like
Disgorge,
Entorturement or
Malodorous have just about the same legitimacy than more conventional bands.
All tracks are preceded with intros, excepts from quality movies that either deal with humans torturing animals or better still animals torturing humans. If you’re allergic to bands like
Mortician or
Impetigo, bands that made those intros their own trademark, you should definitely avoid
Human Hunting Season.
There is however one exception regarding the final track: a cover of
Bolt Thrower's
World Eater (
Realm Of Chaos). A pretty damn good cover if you ask me. Though it respects the Englishman’s classic song and pays them a rather fine tribute, this cover a la
Brutal Death Grind gives it some more muscles and flesh and adds its own interpretation of it, making it as legitimate as the original.
And to top the cake, it is also the one track where the mixing gets more decent and where guitars can be heard distinctly.
Some may criticize AKP’s music not for linearity but rather for the insidious feel that we’re listening to pandemonic mayhem. The ideas that the bands developed are pretty good, even sometimes excellent, but each song feels more like a patchwork of those “good ideas” rather than coherent songwriting. The effect on the listener is a bit distracting but it also confers the very essence of this EP that turns a music known for prerequisites and established and predictable codes into a maelstrom where everything is allowed.
All in all, AKP gave birth to something that has more of a historical value than anything else. I won't cheat you on the fact there are many releases out there that’d deserve more consideration, but still the
Human Hunting Season experience is far from being vain and should you think so its moderate pricing and short duration would make it more acceptable.
So don't start looking here for the ultimate Death
Metal experience and just enjoy a good sonic aggression for what it’s worth.
Human Hunting Season is one EP whose main aim is to be played very loud to bang some head along with some pals of yous.
And let me tell you, it’s doing it right.
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