Metal Underground.com

In a few short years, Ingested has become a sensation in the European deathcore scene, gaining praise from various publications, including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer. Featuring former members of Annotations Of An Autopsy, the quintet is re-releasing their 2009 debut album, “Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering,” in the U.S. via Candlelight Records. While the band has been receiving high regards from a lot of people, there really isn’t anything particularly special about them. They play deathcore like other acts in the genre, chugging along on monotonous riffs and triggered drums. While their sound is brutal to a tee, there is little substance behind any of it, leaving behind a hollow shell stuffed with misogynistic lyrics and a lame, “tough-guy” attitude.

The endless blasting begins with the boisterous opener “Skinned And Fucked.” Starting out on a high note, the album sticks to a steady frantic pace that is never deviated from. This makes for a high-octane listen, but becomes overwhelming in the last third. Even though it only clocks in at 33 minutes, it feel much longer than that, as each song just sounds like an extension of the previous number. The blast beats lack variety, the riffs plod along with the anticipation of the next dull breakdown, and every attempt is made to be as heavy as possible, even at the sacrifice of melody or cohesive songwriting.

The vocals are the only saving grace to “Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering.” Utilizing several styles, including the trademark pig squeals, grunts, and screams that have populated the deathcore genre for years, the variety is nearly endless. Jason Evans isn’t an innovator, but his voice encompasses many different sides that fits the music. His bellows are deep and sharp, making the biting lyrical content more potent.

The lyrics, dealing with rape, murder, and choking women with male genitalia, are offensive on an Anal Cunt level. The song titles may sound slightly harsh, but the words contained within each one are shocking in its sexual deviance and violent acts committed against helpless females. “I'll fuck your putrid anus, then take my dick and put it in your mouth and make you taste your shit” is just one of the classy lines spoken by Evans throughout the course of the album.

It all gets to a point where the proceedings become so far over-the-top that the listener can’t help but laugh at the sheer stupidity on display. The thing is, Ingested discusses this grotesque stuff without a hint of irony, which makes songs like “Anal Evisceration” and “Condemned To Rape” even the more absurd. The lyrics become a caricature, nothing more than the ramblings of a juvenile who spent way too much time listening to “Tomb Of The Mutilated” and “Reek of Putrefaction.”

Deathcore fans will find some value in “Surpassing The Boundaries Of Human Suffering.” It’s brutal as hell, with meaty riffs and chunky breakdowns, but there isn’t any emotion or life to it. It’s empty and ruthless, with not one wink or nod to let everybody know that the band has a sense of humor. There is one brief glimpse of hope in “Stillborn,” as the lyrics actually showed an imaginative look at the end of humanity and a melodic solo squeezed into the final moments of the song. Sadly, “Pre-Released Foetal Mush” brings the album back on the crooked path. There isn’t any basis to the critical accolades that has been beseech upon Ingested, as their debut album is average deathcore, at best.