Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering

Album Review

Sometimes, one comes across an album that is devoid of originality but nonetheless deserves a round of applause because it is enjoyably good; Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering is such an album. British death metallers Ingested don't bring anything remotely original to death metal; they are unapologetically derivative, and they are leaders rather than followers. Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering (which was released on the Siege of Amida label in the U.K. in 2009 and by Candlelight in the United States in early 2010) sounds like countless other death metal albums. So what makes this 33-minute CD exciting rather than boring? The fact that Ingested's performances are so focused and inspired. The Brits sound like they genuinely enjoyed recording this vicious sledgehammer of an album, and that makes for some infectious listening — at least if one has a taste for this type of extreme metal, which is definitely an acquired taste. One thing you won't hear on Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering is a strong Scandinavian influence; Ingested's approach recalls the grindcore era of death metal, and they get a lot of inspiration from grindcore favorites like Cannibal Corpse and Carcass (two bands that enjoyed passionate cult followings back in the early years of death metal). In the ‘90s, the Scandinavian countries became so dominant that it's easy to forget that the United States and the U.K. once reigned supreme in death metal, but Ingested haven't forgotten — and what one hears on Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering is an American/British-influenced type of death metal rather than a Swedish/Norwegian/Finnish-influenced type of death metal. Grindcore, of course, was full of irony and sick humor, both of which are plentiful here. And even though the tunes are predictable and not the least bit groundbreaking, there is no doubt that Ingested are infectiously good at what they do.