200 Stab Wounds – Manual Manic Procedures

Written by on 12-07-2024 at 15:37.

Earlier this year, 200 Stab Wounds was the opening act for Cattle Decapitation. There is no doubt that the American death metal band has been working extremely hard for years to elevate their status, but this concert series in Europe will undoubtedly have brought them more recognition. I mention Europe because their success at home is already significantly higher. Their debut release, Slave To The Scalpel, dates back to 2021, and with Manual Manic Procedures, the band is now releasing their second full-length album, this time not via Maggot Stomp but through Metal Blade Records.

200 Stab Wounds focuses on groove, simplicity and brute force. Names that come to mind when listening to this album include Six Feet Under, Cannibal Corpse, Obituary and sometimes even Dying Fetus. Enthusiasts will know where the emphasis lies during the nine tracks the album contains. Just listen to the wonderful grooves during the plowing Gross Abuse or the more uptempo pummeling in Flesh From Within and Defiled Gestation. The duration of each song varies significantly, as Gross Abuse is barely two minutes long while the more diverse opener Hands Of Eternity — in which the quartet mixes all their influences — approaches the five-minute mark. This approach turns out to be a strength, as 200 Stab Wounds simply plays the way they envision. It seems to work very well.

For example, the sluggish and continuously threatening guitar riffs in Release The Stench are very tasty, but the cool, creamy bass lines in the hard-hitting Manual Manic Procedures also provide distinctiveness, making it one of the stronger arrangements on the album. The bass parts have been given a prominent place in the sound mix, which was a great choice. The single Ride The Flatline also belongs in this category with its Cannibal Corpse-like rhythm. The growls of vocalist Steve Buhl complete the whole, sounding at his dirtiest, much like John Gallagher (Dying Fetus) constantly spews out. The fact that Jami Morgan from the hardcore band Code Orange also contributes powerful vocals makes that song a standout. It simultaneously indicates that the gap between hardcore and death metal is becoming increasingly smaller. A good development!

After this album, we can undoubtedly count 200 Stab Wounds among the group leading the new wave of death metal bands. Manual Manic Procedures is, in all its simplicity, a powerful, fat, and delightfully filthy album. Not necessarily different from their debut Slave To The Scalpel, but with better sound production. Get the WD-40 out of the garage and oil those neck vertebrae: death metal enthusiasts can buy this album blindly and reach the same conclusion.

Vertaling door Kees van Alphen

Score:

84/100

Label:

Metal Blade Records, 2024

Tracklisting:

  1. Hands Of Eternity
  2. Gross Abuse
  3. Manual Manic Procedures
  4. Release The Stench
  5. Led To The Chamber / Liquified
  6. Flesh From Within
  7. Defiled Gestation
  8. Ride The Flatline
  9. Parricide

Line-up:

  • Steve Buhl – Vocals, guitar
  • Raymond MacDonald – Guitar
  • Ezra Cook – Bass guitar
  • Owen Pooley – Drums

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