The injection of Anime samples and deliberately cringe-inducing memery is nothing unusual for Slam. During my Slamuary project, I encounter it quite well and I have partaken in such tomfoolery myself in the past to worrying results. But most of those acts neither make any attempt at actually sounding good nor serve up anything listenable on purpose, to, yet again, induce cringe in the listener. Dehumanizing Itatrain Worship sticks out from the crowd by actually making not only listenable, but enjoyable Slam and doing it in a way where the irony enhances the experience. The band injects Japanese Idol and Anime music into their Brutal Death Metal. The unusually bright, hopeful and uplifting chord progressions and simple major melodies are a stark contrast to the sonic palette of Slam and Dehumanizing Itatrain Worship always manages to transition between them in ways that might be abrupt, but are logical and executed in a humorous way. I suspect that a lot of those are quotes from actual anime openings, but I am not knowledgeable enough about the matter to know.
I have been a fan of Dehumanizing Itatrain Worship for a while and if the only thing the band had was a well executed gimmick, I likely would have lost interest by now. One of their main strengths is that the core sound would hold up even if the gimmick was taken out. Dehumanizing Itatrain Worship knows how to construct every possible section from the Brutal Death Metal playbook and they do so exceedingly well. Every song slams, but every song also has moments that are unique for that song. Fast scale runs are present in the first song, as there are trems or strangely rock-oriented bits throughout the rest of the album. I would be remiss to not mention the guest vocalists on the album. I wasn’t aware that Dehumanizing Itatrain Worship had this much pull and were this well know, but they were able to land guest features from artists from Kraanium, The Dark Prison Massacre and even Vulvodynia—an inclusion likely decided on before the recent allegations were well known. Most guest vocalists frankly don’t stick out—a common problem when the technical proficiency is this high. The one that does stick out (a Rap Feature) unfortunately is the only real blemish on this album, as it ruins the otherwise flawless pacing. If you can stand—or even on some level enjoy the cringe, as I do—then Otakuslam♡Animecide is among the best Slam of the year.
