What is it with this modern metal artwork? It's always this pastiche of rotting culture (probably America), usually something of the religious or political variety as exemplified on the cover you see above, and there always seems to be a necessity in having this grayness to it to create a sense of gloom. Someone needs to sit down and write a history of where this shit started, because it's annoying. There's a reason we mention all of this, and it's because someone must have written a Metal for Dummies guide a couple years back, because bands like Truth Corroded have apparently read every chapter. Look for the lyrics, and a strong surge of deja vu sweeps your entire being. Look for pictures of them online and you'll find shirts from Cattle Decapitation, Suffocation, and other bands they sound like, though they won't have the guts to don a shirt by Lamb of God, who they clearly mirror in most respects. But hey, though those guys get ragged for being more mainstream, they do sound good, and Truth Corroded don't sound so bad either, but expect anything beyond the pages of the book they've read to write Worship the Bled and you'll end up a little lacking in fluids yourself, but you most certainly will fail in your acquisition of worship.
Of course, can it be any other way? This one has to, absolutely, no doubt, open with a fade-in featuring some priests chanting at a lowered octave so it sounds eerie and you know these guys just bought something by LaVey at Borders during its final days. So, from the opener, Truth Corroded couldn't be more honestly clear, Worship the Bled is not 2011's most original album, if anything it's one of the year's most average. The thematics here are entirely lacking; you've heard all the anti-Christian bullshit before, the anti-Capitalist-but-give-me-money irony, and of course some sort of reference to war while utilizing your favorite symbol of evil and mine, and Nazis, but let's give them dollar signs and have them standing in a pile of bills so we aren't featured at the next exhibit at the Holocaust Museum. That sums up the concept of Worship the Bled, it's pretty much been bled into rigor mortis and you'd break a tooth trying to tear off a chunk of the meat. So yes, there's some enslavement going on, some resurrection, some crosses that are probably going to be burned while they're worshipped by throngs of the foolish, flags made out of venom or something, all of that. Truth Corroded aren't here to do anything new for the thematic aspect of their sound and approach, so just let it be.
In all honesty, Worship the Bled is a strong release for the most part, but it needs to be approached as simply something that partakes in the pure essence of 'being there'. It's there, it sounds like X, and that's about the extent of it. These guys have the experience to play, no doubt about it. The production is like a rusted razor, it cuts but it tears at the same time, with just the right amount of clarity and rawness. You'll have no problem grooving to the hooks when they appear, banging your head to the drums, and kind of ignoring the vocals, deep and manly though they are. Like usual, it's the one area with very little variation. Boasting members of bands like Dying Fetus, this one isn't approached in a novel way whatsoever, you get the sound the artwork suggests. It's dark, it fluctuates, the solos will impress you, the drumming throbs, and all of that. Really, there's nothing more to say, these guys have the bite they need to pull off another Ulcerate for those of you interested in the style, but they do nothing new for the rest of us. Strong where it needs to be, but weak in the details.
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Written by Arkus
