Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 05/20/2003
What is underground today may or may not enjoy mass appeal tomorrow.
Gangsta rap and
grunge started out with cult followings but ended up becoming extremely lucrative;
N.W.A and
Nirvana were called "uncommercial" at one time but went on to sell millions of albums.
Death metal, on the other hand, has pretty much remained underground. Some death metallers have entered the gold/platinum realm --
Slayer, most notably -- but for the most part,
death metal has stayed a cult phenomenon. Most
death metal bands cater to a core audience of true believers; they don't care if people outside of the
death metal/
black metal world comprehend what they're doing. And that outlook permeates
Agony's Lament, a CD that is unlikely to win over anyone who hasn't understood
death metal in the past.
Soulless' harsh, brutally intense material is
death metal with a strong
thrash influence; they're extreme and left-of-center, although not quite as extreme as
Cannibal Corpse or
Carcass. Nonetheless, it would be a mistake to think of
Agony's Lament as a disc that's going to convert someone who has been saying, "I just don't understand
death metal" -- from
Jim Lippucci's demonic vocal style to the merciless two-guitar attack of
Jim Corrick and
Wayne Richards,
Agony's Lament is aimed at the kids who are already in the mosh pit. This Cleveland outfit doesn't offer a lot of variety; after the first few tunes, the listener has pretty much heard it all. And they aren't terribly distinctive; countless other bands have done this type of thing before. Nonetheless, the competent
Agony's Lament isn't without its pleasures if one has a taste for this type of sensory assault.
~Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
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