Filth. Filth is to the modern Death Metal fan what atmosphere is to the Black Metal Fan. Often, the sales pitch I get from non-reviewers is that an album is “seriously filthy”. As a descriptor, this helps very little in describing an albums sound, but it is even less conductive in referring to the writing of an album, which I ultimately put more emphasis on as a reviewer than sound. After all, production preferences are subjective and “filth” can mean anything from an indecipherable, low heavy murk like Cabinet produce, to bands who merely choose a wetter and less percussive guitar tone than the average Swedeath act. Having said all that, Jarhead Fertilizer ARE seriously filthy.
Whereas most filth in Death Metal refers to crpyts, decomposing bodies, and the ever-flowing supply of bat guano that surely must exist in such an environment, the Deathgrind of Jarhead Fertilizer is decidedly urban. Opening with Trap hi-hats and police sirens, while ironically titling the opener in a way that doesn’t conflict with the paradigms of Death Metal English in the slightest, is a choice as deliberate as it is ironic. In a world where Carceral Warfare is a daily occurrence, we are little but lambs to the slaughter, only that our sins aren’t a deciding factor for our punishment anymore. In a way, I feel reminded of Abel Ferrara‘s urban vampire flick The Addiction, which uses the premise of the main characters hemoglobin porphyria (or vampirism) as a not so subtle metaphor for drug addiction. The film had similarly used a Hip Hop score as a shorthand for an urban setting ravaged by crime and poverty and had the main character deliver nihilistic philosophical monologues, something that the bands typical choice of audio sample has always reminded me of.
It is evident that the band believes in their political message in an honest way, even though the delivery can at times approach self-irony in how misanthropic it appears. The Hardcore and Powerviolence roots of the band remain clear—Guitarist/Vocalist Sam Di Gristine and Drummer/Vocalist David Bland also play for Full of Hell—and the band stomps and grooves to an unbelievable degree. The material appears very bass driven and rhythmically oriented, which is the right choice for a band like this and for the chosen guitar tone. In the lower regions of guitar and bass, not much detail can be found and even though the sound is murky and not very defined, the overall sound manages to retain its percussive impact. Jarhead Fertilizer is less abstract regarding its lyrical themes but also in its writing. Subject matter and musical representation go hand in hand on the album. The band really makes it clear that they believe in death, disease, injustice, inhumanity, torture, anger and hate. The band believes that the injustices of our world are not only real and palpable but that they inform the way we should see the world. Jarhead Fertilizer’s filth isn’t only window dressing, it’s a lifestyle.
