Formed in 1990, Germany’s Disbelief has steadily been releasing full length records since 1997. Protected Hell is already their 8^th offering, their 5^th for Massacre Records. Let’s see what these sludge/death metal dudes have in store for us.

What you can expect from Disbelief is some slow, mid-tempo death metal with sludgy, doom riffing in between. Think of bands like Jungle Rot, Obituary, Bludgeon and Six Feet Under, only with an occasional emphasis on the slower parts. The overall production and mixing is really nice, the record really goes down like a cold glass of beer. But, the same as with cold glasses of beer, after a number of songs you don’t remember anything anymore. Almost everything is written in the same tempo and groove, which makes it sort of dull after a while.

 

The total package is more than alright. A good production, good convincingly tormented vocals, nice songs written by good musicians who know exactly what they’re doing and what they’re aiming for. Yet a little more variation wouldn’t kill them I’d say. If you dig their previous work you can pick this up blindly. Otherwise this is a great way of getting to know this band. If you like fast and brutal, stay away from Disbelief.