Album Review : Last Days Of Humanity - Horrific Compositions of Decomposition (2021)
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My dad was pretty heartbroken the first time I played a Cannibal Corpse record at home. I was thirteen or fourteen by then. He said “Not you, my son. Don’t tell me you’re into these barbaric sounds?” Little did he know, the Florida death metal pioneers should’ve been the least of his worries. There are much weirder, barbaric bands out there, but in terms of being extreme Netherlands goregrind legends Last Days of Humanity is the band your parents should’ve worried about.
The Dutch boogeymen are back with their first full length album in fifteen years Horrific Compositions of Decomposition and they sound… better than ever?
Last Days of Humanity is a peculiar band. Historically, they’re somewhat of a science experiment on how fast and distorted music can get. There are better goregrind bands, but none are more extreme. I’ve had a long standing fascination with then and the only reason why I’ve waited so long before reviewing one of their albums is that they usually have mangled, rotting corpses for album covers and I didn’t feel like seeing them every time I scroll through the site.
In that regard, Horrific Compositions of Decomposition is a great fucking surprise. Not only it doesn’t have a rotting corpse on the cover, but it’s also really, really great. I’ve been waiting for years to listen to such a moody, atmospheric goregrind record. I don’t know if I’ve heard goregrind so ambitious and purposeful since the glory days of old Carcass. For that, Last Days of Humanity had to think outside the box and redefine what goregrind can be.
The opener Hematopoietic System Tissue and Lymphoid Fail (the song titles are still disgusting, but what can you do?) sends a strong message by slowing down the tempo and daring to venture into higher notes. Hans Smits’ trademark alligator growl is also swapped with horror samples for most of the song. The fuzziness of the production and the sudden tempo changes will remind you it’s Last Days of Humanity, but it’s quite different from what you know of them.
One of the aspects of Horrific Compositions of Decomposition that makes it great is that guitarist Bas Van Geffen isn’t afraid to let his riffs breathe. He lets them linger and swell in order to give them a more atmospheric quality. I love that. Goregrind is supposed to be boogeyman music and Last Days of Humanity really nailed that tone on this album. On a song like Fusing Symblepharon, it really just sets the mood before going full goregrind.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of speedy, pounded flat goregrind on this album but it’s thought of differently. It’s packaged sonically into this horror themed journey. Last Days of Humanity wasn’t afraid to borrow from other genres in order get the feeling they were seeking. There is some war metal influences, some old school New York death metal. Hans, Bas and Paul created a fucked up golem out of all the best boogeyman music out there.
Another cool thing about Horrific Compositions of Decomposition is that it seems to shift Last Days Of Humanity medico legal thematic obsession into more of a horror-like, mental illness focused one. A song like Running Through the Blood (Fear of God) has these slow, pounding riffs in the introduction that gives you the impression that the big, bad wolf is after you. Principles of Pathology is framed by a sample of a serial killer interview. It’s really different.
Last Days of Humanity are far from being the first band to explore themes like these, but the difference with their approach is that it really involves every aspect of the album: the cover art, the song titles, the samples, the music. They’re all coherent with one another. At no point you feel like these are just normal guys playing music. It feels like you’re exploring the depth of a crazy and violent person’s mind in the best possible way. I love that in my goregrind.
If I had one major criticism of Horrific Compositions of Decomposition, it would be that the fragmentation into microsongs is kind of selling the concept short. I would’ve loved more intricate stuff like Hematopoietic System Tissue and Lymphoid Fail, which is the longest song at 2:07. This is an awesome goregrind record nonetheless. It feels threatening, dangerous and real in ways most extreme music doesn’t. They still got it. They’re still the most extreme.
Sorry, dad!
8.4/10
