Dripping - Disintegration of Thought Patterns (2002)

On their official website, Internal Bleeding claim they invented the term "slam" as a subcategory of death metal as early as 1993. That's quite some time before the arguably first pure slamming brutal death metal album was released, which is Devourment's debut Molesting the Decapitated in 1999. 

Voracious Contempt by Internal Bleeding had been released four years prior to that and definitely had some elements, yet it was with the latter that this whole idea got the popularity that it has. Of course, there was the Psychopathic Embryotomy demo by Afterbirth in 1994 (who have since reformed for the last ten years and are now doing fine things), the first Dehumanized albums, Pyrexia's influential Sermon of Mockery already out in 1993 as well as the Japanese Vomit Remnants, all active around the same time in the mid / late 90's.

If you're thinking this is just caveman, mindless death metal, like the younger brother of the family who's evidently a bit behind, you're right. That's most of slam brutal death today, and almost was like that from the beginning, by no means at the same level as full on old school death, or brutal death of the 00's. 

Right at that time, a really particular band made its appearance, and nobody noticed. As Cadaverment, they were active from 1999 - 2000 and then put out a mini-release as Dripping in 2001, named The Lost Archives of Channeling Expeditions Through the Cosmos EP, with a clear concept about space and science fiction. Already things are quite unusual.

The EP was quite noisy and pretty crazy in content, as tempos change constantly in dusty sound that's hard to follow and there's numerous sound usage selections that will make you, wonder. Diary of an ancient astronaut? Skydiving out of the hemisphere? The second track "Interlude of Astrophysics" has some rap beats in there, and the whole thing sounds like madness. Dripping were tripping.

In 2002, we get served the debut (full title: Disintegration of Thought Patterns During a Synthetic Mind Traveling Bliss), which is a continuation of the smashed EP from the previous year, but they have by now completely let go of any sort of reason. Elements of slam brutal death are in the forefront, but the record is so unpredictable and experimental, that this lightning in a bottle case feels surreal that such innovation can fit in such a dull sub-subgenre.

Every time you listen to this, something new comes up. Gargantuan grooves, battered electronic passages, brutally filthy production, hip hop to slam and back within seconds, unheard of signatures, preludes with acoustic guitars at the levels of Dissection, sudden piano / female opera singing, all maniacally glued together in what's either a random mess, or a masterpiece. I go with the latter.

Dripping's Disintegration of Thought Patterns is one of the most unique pieces of extreme metal I have ever heard, one that makes you change the way you see the genres it touches. Much like Sigh's early works or the EP / full length of Infester, the initial listen is an once in a lifetime experience. How was it when you first listened to Intellect Made Us Blind?

It seems the band is active since last year. Could that mean they're recording new stuff or is it just to play gigs around? After Brodequin's return earlier in the year, hidden hellspawns from the past decades come back with a vengeance. One at a time.