Insinnerator - Stalagmite of Ice

Insinnerator is a 3-piece from the sweltering hells of Dallas, Texas who released their debut album, Stalagmite of Ice, last year.  Consisting of “Brutal” Ben on vocals/ bass, Christopher “Atomic Thrasher” on guitar/vocals, and Juan  “Speed” on drums, Insinnerator is one of those bands that is best described with 3 simple words, “Ho. Lee. Shit” Ok, so maybe two words when spelt correctly but whatever.

I would describe Insinnerator’s sound like getting a lesson in SBM from Jennifer Aniston. It’s un-expected, hurts a bit, but you love it. Everything this band offers is nothing you would expect. To start it off, this album has riffs. And not recycled riffs which seem to plague a lot of the NWOTM albums but genuine “grab you by the balls/clit and not let go” riffs. Imagine putting the technicality of Voivod and Testament, with the sheer evilness of Slayer, and the brutality of Exodus into a blender. Then serve it all with a bit of Vio-lence like arrangements and a drop of the devils ball sweat. The drums on this album do exactly what they are supposed to do and by that I mean, they are aggressive as fuck. No frills, just a straight drill to the head. Also, the bass, yeah it’s audible. Don’t believe me, check for yourself. Not only is it audible, but Ben shows himself has a bassist who doesn’t like to sit back behind everyone else and offers up a nice solo in the intro to Children of the Cult.

Now onto the vocals. A lot of folks seem to have a big problem with the vocals and I just don’t understand why. Trying to describe Brutal Bens vocals would take a few chapters and probably some words that don’t exist so instead I’ll just give you an example. The moment I heard Brutal Ben I was immediately reminded of Sean muthafuckin Killian from Vio-lence. Ben has a unique voice that stands out from the crowd. Not to be bothered with all the harsh vocals that are a favorite among a lot of thrashers, Ben’s vocal style lends more towards that of the Speed Metal side. Ben also shows a good range with the addition of guttural vocals towards the end of the title track, Stalagmite of Ice.  Atomic Thrasher also lends his vocals on this album on the track “Rites of Execution” and does a great job with the harsher side of things. Both Chris and Ben pull off the high screams ala Show No Mercy era Tom Araya quite well but a bit randomly at times.

My complaints on this album are few. First and for most, the vocals sound like they were mixed to high into the mix which is another reason why I think people have a problem with them. My second complaint is that the album should have opened with Children of the Cult. And my third complaint, not really a complaint but a wtf, is that the band is called Insinnerator…..the album is called Stalagmite Of Ice! COME ON GUISE!?!

To top it all off, these guys know how to play their instruments and they don’t pull any punches. Stalagmite of Ice was definitely one of the best Thrash Metal albums that 2011 had to offer, with each track being no less than amazing. I eagerly await Insinnerator’s sophomore album and if you aren’t trying to sue these guys for whiplash by the end of the album then you are obviously not doing something right.

Insinnerator – Stalagmite of Ice gets 4.7 greasy buckets of chicken outta 5!

Check em out on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/Insinnerator