One cannot discuss Consuming Impulse without mentioning its cover art. The image of a man’s face being consumed by a swarm of ants perfectly mirrors the music within: claustrophobic, irritating (in the best way possible), and utterly consuming. While the band famously wanted a different cover (the "shredded skin" art that eventually appeared on Live at Dynamo ), the "Ants" cover has become an inextricable part of death metal iconography.
: FLAC ensures that every bit of the original CD data is preserved. In "The Trauma," the subtle stereo separation and the decay of the cymbals are clear and free of the "swirly" artifacts found in MP3 encodes. EAC Precision
To understand why a specific digital rip of this album is so sought after, one must first appreciate the source material. Released in 1989, Consuming Impulse is the second studio album by the Dutch death metal band Pestilence. While their debut, Malleus Maleficarum , was a thrash-influenced affair, Consuming Impulse signaled a drastic shift. It remains one of the most ferocious and technical death metal records to ever emerge from the European scene. Pestilence - Consuming Impulse -1989- -EAC-FLAC-
Modern remasters of death metal often fall into the trap of boosting the volume to -6dB RMS, which crushes the dynamic range. The original 1989 master has a massive dynamic range. The intro to "Chemo Therapy" is quiet, eerie, and atmospheric before the band explodes. In the FLAC version, the difference between the whisper and the roar is visceral. You can hear the actual size of the room they recorded in.
Listening to on a proper stereo system (or high-end headphones) is a rite of passage. It strips away the nostalgia filters and the "lo-fi" excuses of 80s metal. You realize that this band wasn't just "good for 1989"; they were terrifyingly ahead of the curve. One cannot discuss Consuming Impulse without mentioning its
In the late 1980s, the heavy metal landscape was undergoing a violent mutation. While the Bay Area thrash scene was becoming increasingly technical and Florida was beginning to simmer with the first stirrings of "true" death metal, a quartet from Enschede, Netherlands, was busy crafting one of the most essential documents in extreme music history.
Before we dive into the digital weeds of Exact Audio Copy (EAC) and Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC), we must understand the weight of the source material. : FLAC ensures that every bit of the
The album runs approximately and was recorded at Music Lab Studios in Berlin. Dehydrated The Process of Suffocation Suspended Animation The Trauma Chronic Infection Out of the Body Echoes of Death Deify Thy Master Proliferous Souls (Instrumental) Reduced to Ashes Buying Guide