NAUSEA: “CONDEMNED TO THE SYSTEM”

(TheMadIsraeli has been on a reviewing roll, and the subject of these thoughts is the latest album by Nausea.)

Nausea is a death grind powerhouse that includes guitarist/vocalist Oscar Garcia of Terrorizer fame and guitarist Leon De Muerte of Murder Construct.  Nausea have also been around forever, having been formed while Terrorizer were still together (there is a split with both bands from ’88), yet this album, Condemned To The System, is only their second full-length, their catalogue mostly consisting of demo’s and EP’s (lots of them). Their only other full-length is Crimes Against Humanity from ’91.

Nausea appears to be Oscar’s way of carrying on the legacy of the World Downfall Terrorizer sound, and he succeeds magnificently.  If you ever wanted something that could serve as an evolved sequel to that legendary grindcore record, Condemned to the System is it.  The gritty as fuck, sharp as nails guitar tone is back; the grooves and the power chord, slide, and tremolo-picked heavy riffing are there; and of course Garcia’s rancid, bestial roar remains perfectly intact.

The songwriting is also as frantic as ever, switching from groove to blistering speed fuck at a moment’s notice and delivering everything in concentrated bursts of venom and battery acid.

I also love the mix on this album. It channels a late 80’s, early 90’s garage quality that makes it sound like it was recorded in that World Downfall / Harmony Corruption era of deathy grindcore.  It both hits the nostalgia notes and still remains relevant in a modern sense. It provides a blistering adrenaline rush of crusted-over death metal butchery.

Definitely check this out.  You won’t be disappointed.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Condemned To the System was released earlier this month by Willowtip Records and can be acquired here. It’s also available on Bandcamp via this link.

https://www.facebook.com/nauseala