Review: “Human Scum” by Detest

Mixed and Mastered by Bound In Fear guitarist Keir Campbell at Kascade Mixing And Mastering and with Artwork by Ash Michael Fenlon, Manchester Beatdown Hardcore crew Detest – Vocalist Christian Tustin, Guitarist duo Sam Morris and Luke Lomas alongside a rhythm section of Bassist Joey Whitehurst and Drummer Laurence Toms-Arbel – dropped “Human Scum” back in June 2019…

Swirling dark riffs set the atmosphere of “Human Scum” with Downtempo edged groove before an off kilter string scratch moment as the brutal vocals from Tustin see him range from a classic Beatdown Hardcore bark to a Slam growl in the space of a few moments. If that string scratching is supposed to replace a vinyl scratch moment or not doesn’t matter, “Elimination” sets the game off right. Title track “Human Scum” keeps those dark and intense atmospherics with a tension loaded riff over the sound of pouring rain before everything slips into gear. A slow crushing Downtempo Beatdown Hardcore stomp tempo shifts into something menacing and urgent with an ocean of dark groove and Horror film vocals before a pause – just for a moment – and then the headlong rush into Demonic Slam vocals before a single gunshot. If a brutal Art Slam track wasn’t your scene the look away now because the Deathcore heavyweight chugs in Beatdown Hardcore groove with a mix of Deathcore and Slam growl vocals that comprise “Misery” is a headbangable blunt force trauma that would leave you with PTSD if it wasn’t for its Death Metal climbing leads and jackhammer footwork. It’s a cathartic release in the the same vein as Trephination and after the sonic break and downtuned slow down of epic proportions, you’ll be lucky if you’re still breathing.

The longest of all introductions builds sees eerie haunting atmospherics and the pitter patter of a crystal clear drum sound bring in “Hell” before shifting to a stompy chug. Almost two tracks in one it respawns around the 92 second mark to faster track that has a Street Soldier or even Malign esq grime rap scream verse before a punishingly good downtempo breakdown section with a Slam verse second to none. Featuring a guest appearance from Stuart Carson of Mortal Shift, “Abuser” is a track about… Put simply, putting a self-righteous piece of work six feet under. The call.”this is Manchester Hardcore” during a Beatdown Deathcore slug out is the calm before a storm of blast beats and samples interweaved with air raid sirens and as things inevitably slow down the grooves are. Nothing short of immense [7.5/10]

Track listing

  1. Elimination
  2. Human Scum
  3. Misery
  4. Hell
  5. Abuser ft. Stuart Carson of Mortal Shift

“Human Scum” by Detest is out now and available over at bandcamp

 

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *