Rock Planet

• band: Festival of Mutilation

• album: Personal Cosmos EP

• year: 2011.

• label: self-released

• total playing time: 16:57

• genre: technical death metal

• reviewed by: Džemal BIJEDIĆ

• rating: 8.5/10



Songwriting is actually very interesting and these guys show a lot of potential even though we only have 3 songs and an instrumental.



So here we are, two years after the very promising debut album called "Gods of Infernal Desolation", Festival of Mutilation return with a 17 minutes long EP called "Personal Cosmos". A lot has happened in these two years... First of all, Ermin, the vocalist on the debut album left the band before it was even released and the band played some shows with Hana, the frontwoman of the other local band Ambrosia.



Obviously that didn't feel right, because the band suddenly resurfaced not just with a completely new singer, but he plays guitar as well! His name is Goran and he is from Mostar, but he seemed so fresh on the scene, that people thought Festival grew him in their basement. That would als explain how he seems to be really fitting in.



This line-up played a couple of shows too, before they decided to release this EP, making us all familiar with the new approach of the band towards death metal. And yes, there are some changes, even though Goran did not really participate in the songwriting this time around (we may expect more from him on the new album though!). Still, he wrote all the lyrics and arranged the vocals.Well, since we're speaking of lyrics, they obviously changed since Ermin left. Festival of Mutilation is not writing about history per se anymore, but they go deeper into philosophy and the inner struggles of a human being ("Il Principe" - google it if you have to



Musically, the band found a way to get to the point much faster than they did on the debut album, without making the songs any less interesting. For instance, there are still no choruses anywhere, the songs flow, and yes, Sale and Jale are still showing off with their scales and they still have a lot of those oriental melody lines and harmonies that make the whole effort stand out a bit. One of the strongest attributes of the record is Marko this time around. He improved quite a lot and is not affraid to experiment at all. His rhythms change with almost every verse and his splash and ride cymbals get beat up like a snare in a black metal band. Gene Hoglan or Sean Reinert would be proud.Speaking of those guys, yes, Festival of Mutilation is one more of those bands who adore Death and the late Chuck Schuldiner. You can hear that from the start till the end, and even Goran sounds like the "Spiritual Healing"-era Chuck. He even writes lyrics like Chuck would.Don't get me wrong, I love Chuck and I love this kind of death metal, but it is obviously a double-edged sword, because the authencity is missing. Sure, there are harmonies Death never used and yes, there are blastbeats, but is that enough?



Songwriting is actually very interesting and these guys show a lot of potential, even though we have only 3 songs and one instrumental. This band is getting stronger, and I can't wait to hear what Goran will bring into it musicwise and how this whole thing will develop. I'm certain, they can get pretty far, because individually, they are all capable players.



Bring on the album!



If you're interested, feel free to contact the band through the following links. you can get a CD for 3 Euro and it even comes with a simple but nice booklet with all the lyrics and a design by Marko himslef. A nice package!



http://www.myspace.com/festivalofmutilation

http://www.facebook.com/FestivalOfMutilation

email: fombosnia@gmail.com