The Bottom Line
Pros
- Relentless grind in the Nasum/Rotten Sound mold.
- Tightly wound songs performed with near-Olympic athleticism.
Cons
- The band lives in Switzerland and won’t be in the United States this year.
Description
- Released March 31, 2009 on Relapse Records.
- Mumakil is from Geneva, Switzerland.
- This is the band's second full-length.
Guide Review - Mumakil - 'Behold The Failure'
The crusty grind baton once wielded by Nasum has been passed off to these Swiss grinders who have been growing exponentially better and angrier in their five-year existence. Their Relapse debut and first big American splash after a few split appearances and a delayed debut exceeds the hype. Unlike most milquetoast black metal, Mumakil has earned the right to name themselves after an elephantine beast from the world of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Mumakil first arrived on these shores a few years late. Their 2006 debut full-length Customized Warfare wasn't widely available in the U.S. until 2008. The release featured Roman numerals in lieu of song titles and sounded like Napalm Death breeding with Malevolent Creation’s In Cold Blood.
Behold the Failure is even more straightforward grind riddled with crazy blastbeats, staccato guitar work and intensity on par with Rotten Sound. While the band’s strength is their power, they toy with uncanny rhythm and musicality on tracks like “Barbecue in Bhopal” and “Whip Reward.”
True, there’s not as much variety on this album as, say, latter day Napalm. Mumakil can rip off a body part and only perform a botched surgery. But the music comes so quick that there isn’t time for niceties. All you can do is grab the gnarly beast by the tusk and try to hold on for 27 songs. Fans of weak metal should remain in hiding. The rest of us should rejoice.
