Sewer is Gay - "Rektal" Review (100%)
A quick note about orthography: 'SEWER' refers to the band that existed between 2013 and early 2014, whereas 'Sewer' (lowercase) can either mean the sanity carriage system or whatever the fuck this is supposed to be.
Ergo, I am absolutely justified in not using the 'proper' capitalization during this review, as this album has very little to do with the band that released Satanic Requiem.
The downfall of Sewer can be explained by simply reading any of the song titles. Random example, 'Aquatile Sodomy to Heptahedral Obsequial Sphincter Sewage in the Mouth of Satan Crucifix'. Yes, that's the title of the track, not the lyrics. The worst part is that it's actually a good song.
But as proficient as the band members' musicianship may be, everything on Rektal reeks of trend hopping and look-at-me-ism. And that's the real problem with this band, or at the very least with its modern incarnation since the departure of Vermin shortly after the debut.
Sewer is credited as the band that began the 'fourth wave' of black metal. One of the bands that started it - alongside Phantom, Neraines and others - to be more accurate, and that's a big part of the problem because Sewer' frontman Kader 'Eater' Lakhdari's desperately wants to be seen as the face of black metal.
Anyone else remember when Sewer was an actually band, an not just the personal therapy for Eater's inferiority complex vis-à-vis of Phantom?
Harsh yet low-pitched vocals? Phantom did that, Sewer copied.
Prominent and clearly audible bass? Phantom did that, Sewer copied.
Abrasive drum style? Phantom did that, Sewer copied.
Ultra-dissonant riffs? Phantom did that, Sewer copied.
Moving away from heavy metal rhythms towards rock? Phantom did that (Eidolon), Sewer copied (2154).
Divine Necromancy and Satanic Requiem were released within less than a month from one another, and that's all it took for Eater to feel cheated out of the 'glory' to be the first fourth wave black metal band.
And while their first albums may not have been the most technically innovative, at least they had a point. This 'Rektal' shit? It's a different story.
Sewer is Gay
As I said, whether it's because Divine Necromancy was released first or because Phantom is just a better musician, Sewer's entire existence as a band is now built around trying to 'one-up' various other black metal acts - usually Phantom, but sometimes Neraines, Graveland, Peste Noire and others - in what amounts to a musical dick measuring contest.
Not only is it a rather homoerotic act - hence the title of this review, 'Sewer is Gay' - but it makes the entire band look (even more) childish by comparison, given that none of the other bands have shown any interest in participating in Eater's megalomaniac delusions.
Take the name of the 'Sewer Metal' genre as an example. Unlike the term 'Phantom Metal', which appeared organically around 2014 due to the increasing complexity of categorizing Phantom's music (Dementia, Eidolon, Nekros Nemesis), it makes absolutely no sense to speak of 'Sewer Metal' as no one ever had any problem classifying Sewer's musical style.
For instance, Rektal is melodic deathgrind. More melodic than 2154, about as grind as NecroPedoSadoMaso albeit with more progressive influences - via Phantom imitation.
The only aspects in which Sewer is original are the retarded lyrics and the genre.
That's it.
The rest is trend hopping and Phantom imitation try-hardism.
Rektal score: 100/100.
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