Desensitised – Virus of Violence – 2006

Virus of Violence is, as I understand it, the only full-length studio album by the Dutch band Desensitised. Of course, I never heard about them before. That makes the best kind of listening experience don’t you think? While doing a fast search there also seems to be an American band with the same name. This band allegedly changed its name to på Murder Syndicate in 2008. I haven’t heard anything about them either and I can’t find any records of there being a record out (pardon the pun).

I’m not sure if this should be classified as Thrash- or Death Metal. I have seen Desensitised classified as Brutal Death Metal or Grindcore though, But I must admit that I’m not sure where the lines are drawn between these subgenres. It’s Metal for sure though. For me, it’s lots of Death Metal riffing and there are also the Death Metal typical growls. I’m generally not too fond of those but I think it works on Virus of Violence. I am not sure why. It might have something to do with that it’s actually quite nicely produced. The sound quality is good and it’s not just top-speed songs for the hell of it.

The songs are short and the album is not long. I don’t have a problem with that. Remember Slayers Reign in Blood is 28 minutes of masterpieces. The songs of Virus of Violence might not be such masterpieces but they do their job and it’s enjoyable to listen to them. You never get bored with them and they have a consistency. I like the music and the guitars more than the vocals, but coming from be that’s a real low-odds bet. I seldom get along well with growling. But all in all, I like this!