Band's List Death Metal Depopulate Till Man Exists no More

When you think Death Metal and Poland together, you either have bands that rely on Vader’s past heritage with its Thrashy undertones or others that follow the path taken by Azarath with high doses of brutality, technicality and occultism. So when a new Polish band comes up, you’re wondering in which category it will eventually end. With Depopulate and the release of the EP “Till Man Exists no More”, that question won’t happen.

Refreshingly, Depopulate practice Death Metal that is more akin to the one played in the US. It will take only a step further to correlate the moniker of the band with the album of the same name released by Vile. Was it intended from the start? It wouldn’t be surprising with more modern bands taking names from influential recordings (did you say Bonded By Blood?). Musically, it would also make sense as Depopulate really dwell more on the Brutal Death Metal as it’s done the other side of the pond than upon, among others, Zyklon or Anata if you were to pick bands from Europe.

So if you were looking for yet another clone of the aforementioned Polish cult bands, you might want to reconsider this twice. Past the “semi-industrial” intro, Depopulate thrash the grounds with Deranged I Slice and will not stop until the final notes of Harvesting Human Flesh. Show Me the Way to Your Heart, an interesting title for a BDM track (and no, it’s no ballad) even shows “slamming” tendencies with its break that could be reminiscent of Dying Fetus or Skinless.

The production is clear and powerful but sometimes takes too much of a toll especially on vocals which seem sometimes to be overproduced and making their impact somehow duller. This gives a feeling that the band hasn’t decided yet if it’s going to be strictly Brutal Death Metal or some other brand of Deathcore. Or maybe they intended it that way from the start to have this kind of blurry line, going from one to the other effortlessly. The short duration of the songs (usually within 3 minutes) makes “Till Man Exists no More” a pleasant and efficient record. Don’t expect Depopulate to blow your mind a la Mitochondrion or Portal but expect to have your ass kicked instead. This is the band’s first recording, and while not groundbreaking it does show promises for the future so help yourself and go listen to them.