Welcome back to The Great Metal Debate Podcast. Today we're looking at one of the most extreme bands - the Chinese slamming brutal death grind band The Dark Prison Massacre with their 3rd full-length studio record titled Triple Insanity.
Let's just say that if you're a fan of bands like Torsofuck and Gutalax, you'll enjoy the sickness of this band. The vocals are among the nastiest I've ever heard. That churning sink garbage disposal sound is exactly the type of disgusting gutturals you're looking for in this subgenre. Triple Insanity unfortunately does not begin that way due to the first track being very skippable. All you're missing is the intro album title track which is just an old recording of some guy speaking Mandarin. I obviously have no clue what he is saying but it doesn't matter.
"Stop Slut Humiliation" begins with a very long pig squeal followed by more pig squeals. There is a slow downtuned guitar chugging part accompanied by some very rhythmic gutturals. There is even a 3rd act of the song where the music has that stop and start djenty feel about it and you can clearly hear each drum beat. As for the song's conclusion it ends with some filthy yet groovy gurgling vocals over a slam riff which makes the perfect breakdown.
"Watch Your Life" starts with a washed out chug riff but fades in with a more crisp and polished sound. Of course there is more 'barfing in the shitter with a microphone next to the toilet bowl' vocals where that came from. If you're into this sort of thing then The Dark Prison Massacre will certainly be up your alley. If it seems like I'm insulting this band then I must tell you that I'm actually praising it. The grosser this type of music sounds, the better. At the 0:38 mark, there is a sound that the vocalist makes that sounds just like it was processed with a synthesizer.
"Ghost Island Dalitas" runs at a slower tempo musically but at least you still get the possessed crocodile type of vocals.
"True Metal Bastards" gives us some more of those beloved demonic pig squeals that will remind you a lot of Despised Icon. Imagine the perfect blend of quality deathcore with a slight cyber porno grind infusion like Sperm Swamp. "Dead Hand System" and "Scam Pioneer are other fantastic examples of both Zeyu and Dongda's impressive guttural capabilities.
"Ghost Island Dalits (Snow Sedim)" is a remix of the song you heard earlier that has a different sound mix instrumentally and some of the vocals are either rearranged or are recorded in a slightly different pitch. There's also an operatic backing track on this edition as well.
"No School Violence" is one of the more pig squeal infused tracks on this record and uses quite a bit more distortion is some areas. The final track on this album “Cerebral Failure Projection” is another banger, and I have not complaints about it. All I can really say about it is that it’s the same kind of stuff you’d expect from this band.
I do have some critiques. I’ve always disliked it when a band feels the need to put two versions of the same track on the same album, even if it is a slight remix. I personally believe that a band should choose one version of the song they like best to put on a new album, and then if they have a remix or another version of the song then they should release it later. I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the previous record, or the album before it, but I’m still giving it a rating of 7 ½ out of 10.
This album is definitely not for everybody; this band is not for everyone. But if you are looking to scratch that itch as far as nasty vocals, gutterals, and pig squeals, then this is probably what you’re looking for. You can buy their digital albums on Bandcamp.com. And as for this newest release Triple Insanity, you can listen to it on Amazon Music. If you really want to support this band by buying their merch, be sure to check out Fat Tub Of Lard Records.