''Conceived in Sewage'' is the fourth studio album by American
death metal
Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...
band
Devourment. It was released by
Relapse Records
Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists.
History
The ...
on February 19, 2013.
A music video was released for "Parasitic Eruption".
Musical style
The album features a sound that differs from the band's notorious style of focusing on an abundance of
slams. The slam riffs are notably kept to a minimum while a sound more reminiscent of traditional death metal is performed on the album.
This new sound gathered a mixed reception from fans and reviewers.
Reception
''Conceived in Sewage'' received mixed to positive reviews. Denise Falzon of
Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...
described the album as "33 minutes of slamming, brutal death metal mixed with grind elements", and called it "fast and punishing throughout".
Dean Brown of
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
said, "for the most part ''Conceived in Sewage'' has...concise, memorable songwriting". Brown also liked "Majewski's...rhythmic gutturals", but noted that "Devourment are not pushing into any uncharted death metal terrains with ''Conceived in Sewage''".
Chris Krovatin of ''
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
'' said that the band "
oesentirely what you expect them to". He also noted, "While spirited in their performance, this brutal quartet lack the dynamism and versatility of label-mates Dying Fetus, resulting in a relatively entertaining record for death metal fans but not much more."
Both Falzon and Krovatin praised
Erik Rutan's production, with Falzon saying that it "takes ''Conceived in Sewage'' to a higher level of eviscerating brutality",
and Krovatin calling the sound "solid" and "lush".
Release history
''Conceived in Sewage'' was released in North America on February 19, 2013, on February 22 in certain European countries, and on February 25 in the UK and the rest of the world.
Track listing
Personnel
Devourment
* Mike Majewski – vocals
* Ruben Rosas – guitars
* Chris Andrews – bass
* Eric Park – drums
Additional personnel
*
Travis Ryan – vocals ("Fucked with Rats")
Production
*
Erik Rutan – producer
References
{{Authority control
Devourment albums
Relapse Records albums
2013 albums
Albums with cover art by Toshihiro Egawa