It’s not often that you can review one album by a band and then essentially apply the exact same review to their next album. In the case of CARDIAC ARREST,much of what I said regarding their excellent 2008 release CADAVEROUS PRESENCE can be applied to their latest album HAVEN FOR THE INSANE.
The Chicago death metal monsters’ first album for IBEX MOON and third album overall serves up another hearty helping of pure American death metal at it’s best.
Skipping the intro action and jumping right into the blood and guts with “Insanity’s Grip,” the band has retained all of their energy and ferocity while taking a more focused attack to their sonic destruction. “Haunted Remnants,” “Rage On… Fuck Off,” and “Unearthly Pleasures” are all killer cuts in an album that crushes from beginning to end.
The only quality of HAVEN FOR THE INSANE that was better handled on it’s predecessor is that of it’s production. While both albums were produced at Polymorph Media Studios, CADAVEROUS PRESENCE had a deep, fuzziness to it (think OBITUARY tone) that HAVEN lacks, opting for a slightly more high-end, trebled sound.
CARDIAC ARREST will be making the rounds this summer, so try to catch them live if you can.
Rating: 4/5
