Deranged - Obscenities In B-Flat (2006)

Country: Sweden
Language: English
Genre: Death Metal
Style: Brutal Death Metal
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© 2006 Listenable Records
Reviewed By Michael O'Brien for The Metal Forge.com
More of the same (would we have it any other way?)
If you have a winning formula then why change it? The short answer to this question in the case of Sweden's Deranged is that you don't. In fact you do nothing different at all. I have to say that I was initially a little let down by this album because I fell for the hype surrounding it that talked it up to be the band's heaviest and most diverse release ever. Sure it's heavy, damn heavy in fact, but I can't really say that it differs greatly from their previous release Plainfield Cemetary which is confusing in itself as it has taken 4 years to get this release out.
I've long held a soft spot for Deranged ever since their 1995 release Rated X, (which I still rate as one of the grittiest and most dirty death metal albums I've ever heard) and have been hoping that they would return to their early sound with each new release. I think it is finally time to put those hopes to rest and accept the direction in which the band are going. Especially considering vocalist Per Gyllenback left the band after that album and was one of the best things about it.
The thing that Deranged have always had going for them is an atmosphere within their music that sounds as every bit as dirty as their lyrical content. This is definitely a plus and can have a real effect on the listener, drawing them into the fantasy, and it exists perhaps ever stronger on Obscenities In B-Flat than anything they have released since Rated X.
I won't waste anyone's time by attempting to break down each of the songs because I'm sure you have a fairly good idea of what to expect - low tuned, grinding, blast-beat ridden, catchy songs. Deranged seem to have a knack for writing songs that seem to be the epitome of death metal simplicity but turn out to be a hell of a lot more technical than they first appear and things are no different on this release.
I have to admit that at times I found my attention wandering but these spells were practically momentary as there always seemed to be a good riff waiting just around the corner to lure me in once more.
Fans of low tuned, blast-beat death metal will surely find this to be a great release but those who have never really dug the style are unlikely to find themselves converts to it with Obscenities In B-Flat.

tags: deranged,