Posted on: February 5, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

This may just be the band that has had the most time between reviews at NeuFutur. It was back in around 2001 when “Let The Soul Out and Cut The Vein” was reviewed. The band has broken up, and this CD represents a collection of the tracks that for whatever reason were never released. The brutalisy is shown early on during “Timeless”, which is a track that tears up, that rends individuals’ guts up with each guitar riff. The production is strong but there seems to be an unnecessary hiding of the vocal track in favor of the guitar and drums.

With the exception of “Golden Female Ring”, all of the songs go well beyond the five minute mark. This allows for Rabies Caste to throw in a thrash interlude during “Timeless” that kicks up the energy of the track, before the guitars regain dominance afterwards. The same plodding type of sound opens up “Mind Eruption”, before the guitars creep in in a very “Dirty Black Summer” type of vibe. The band looks towards repetition much more than was the case during “Mind Eruption”, but this is not due to the band running out of material. The use of repetition during “Mind Eruption” is a move that installs a certain range of sounds that individuals should expect from Rabies Caste, as well as what they should expect from this CD. “Unmanning Your Planet” is a track that almost goes toward a progressive rock style. While there is definitely a heavy sound that is not typically present during progressive albums, there is no debating that Rabies Caste is influenced by Black Sabbath’s “Planet Caravan” more than anything during this track.

Regardless of whatever tack Rabies Caste takes, the fact is present that they come up with some of the most compelling tracks that metal has ever heard. Perhaps the most interesting of these has to be “Unmanning Your Planet”, which allows the distortion to slide back a little bit to allow for the instrumental nuance of the band to show more clearly. While the band has sadly passed on, the fury and brooding nature of this self-titled album makes a purchase necessary. The band is easily the equivalent of any act on Southern Lord or Hydra Head. The band’s skill is in providing some brutal tracks while still providing listeners with a harmony that will be present for a long time after the disc has ended. Contact Dada Drumming and pick up a copy of this album.

Top Track: Unmanning Your Planet

Rating: 7.2/10

Rabies Caste – S/T CD / 2006 Dada Drumming / 7 Tracks / http://www.dadadrumming.com / Reviewed 06 December 2006

[JMcQ]

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