Let's face it: There will never be a '1-800 Vindication' again. Just like there'll be no 'Reign in Blood' again. Or 'Master of Puppets'. All bands have that one album which they won't be able to reproduce. Or should reproduce for that matter.
Anyway, '1-800 Vindication' was the Illdisposed album which took fans and reviewers alike with their pants down and blew everyone away. It came like a shot in the dark and became a reference work in death metal. 'Burn Me Wicked' came close, but not quite. The Danes have put out great music since then, every release has been excellent in its own way, and in fact, many, many death metal bands out there ought to envy the consistent quality of the releases from Illdisposed, but it's never quiiiite been the same.
'1-800...' isn't forgotten, though! The intro to 'Sense the Darkness' immediately leads the thoughts back to said album; a low, transistor radio kind of sound opens the ball, however soon to be replaced by the typical Illdisposed groove and a Bo Summer who's doing his usual cool growl.
The growl has be enhanced with a not so typical effect for the next tune, Eyes Popping Out. Interesting move and a great song too. Time to Dominate takes the tempo even further down and is founded on an earworm of a riff. The bridge which leads to the solo is almost doomy, whereas the solo piece is really fresh and light. Nice one.
The title Never Compromise is suitable for Illdisposed. The band has made a habit of putting snippets of Danish language TV series or films on
their albums even if they're music of course reaches far beyond our borders. Apart from that, Never Compromise is a heads-down, brutal piece of death metal in mid-tempo. Very cool.
Stop Running is, ironically, an up-tempo, galopping piece, almost has a thrash feel in the verse pieces. Very melodic solo piece. I like the groove of the whole song. Keeping the tempo up, more groove and melody can be found in I Am Possessed.
Flanger intro, double bass, then time shift, then back with a double bass whirlwind from Thomas Jensen, and then down with the tempo again, and then up; yes, Too Blind To See is a dream for those who love time shifts with groove. I love it!
The Poison is probably the darkest tune of the album. Summer sounds like a demon straight out of hell. Very nice. Another Kingdom dead reminds me a lot of the style of the 'Submit' album (1995) - and perhaps it's no coincidence? Die Kingdom was one of the memorable tracks from that album.
A bit more transistor sound for She's Undressed. Otherwise full speed ahead, thrash feel with the Illdisposed groove. Cool. And it's no surprise that the album proper ends with another groovy tune; We Do This Alone, which combines both mid-tempo and up-tempo pieces. Hell, no, Illdisposed - you don't do this alone! A lot of us out here appreciate the metal that flows from your speakers! Thank you for another round of death metal groove.
