iNFeCTeD: crawlspace

Produced by iNFeCTeD and Andrew Wright

Released: 1994, re-issue October 2009

By rights, iNFeCTeD should have got much bigger than they did. Distinctively different from most of the rest of the Australian death metal scene at the time, they got a two-album deal with Thrust on the strength of a demo, played supports with everyone that mattered and even appeared at the Big Day Out. But their breakthrough never really came. Being from Perth at a time when even east coast bands found it tough to tour much and unable to consolidate a deal with Roadrunner, iNFeCTeD finally ground to halt in late 1996, leaving their recorded legacy to wallow in obscurity. It took me ages to find a copy of crawlspace, eventually tracking one down online a few years back. That's a terrible shame, but the hunt should be easier now because this seminal album was recently re-mastered and re-issued and if you missed it the first time, don't make the same mistake again.

Recorded in 1993 and released the following year (with the cover on the left), crawlspace sounds like few other domestic metal bands of the period. While Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse and Carcass were the terms of reference for most of the death metal brigade, iNFeCTeD were taking their cues from Godflesh and Fear Factory. The results may not have been wholly original, but they were certainly inspired and effective. Right away, "The Sleeper" let the listener know that they're about to hear something unconventional for the time, with a harsh, grinding guitar sound and an angry, snarling vocal.

With "Truthkill" the band sounds most like it is channeling the dark energy of Streetcleaner with its coarse, angular riffs and droning, distorted bass and the title track is reminiscent of something like "Martyr" or "Scumgrief" from Soul of New Machine. The chunky, chugging breakdown riff in the middle of "Once More" foreshadows the basic alterna-metal sound that would later flood the scene, but here Gareth Morris fills it up with clattering drums like an outbreak of sniper fire. Guitarist Matthew Jefferson throws up riffs that churn and stumble into each other and then scatters minimalistic, dissonant solos into random songs without bothering to lay down a rhythm track underneath, leaving James Campbell's bass to crash against them with a raw thud. Joe Kapiteyn's vocals are also a distinctively unique element of iNFeCTeD's sound, more of a hoarse, punkish bark like Justin Broadrick than anything approximating the Vincent-esque roaring growl other bands employ. Stylistically, this is a band way ahead of its time, and the re-mastered version, featuring a remix of "Assimilate" that displays their industrial pretentions, makes crawlspace sound like it was recorded in 2009, not 17 years ago.

crawlspace truly is an Australian death metal classic, relegated to forgotten realms no more. Seek it out.

1. The Sleeper
2. Rage Flower
3. Hole Inside
4. Truthkill
5. Crawlspace
6. Once More
7. Predetermined
8. Smother
9. Assimilate
10. Never
11. Assimilate (goldDust remix)

Rating: 92%