Refusal Venomous Human Concept CD Review

Finnish death has long been lauded, praised and downright worshipped by those who like things on the extreme and European side of metal. Refusal have been kicking over tombstones in Helsinki since 2008, and now, we have their first offering since 2019 in Venomous Human Concept. 

From the start, I can hear that Refusal color with a pretty diverse palette. The guitar tones echo the HM-2 buzzsaw sound of Entombed, Dismember etc., but the riffs are not Swedish in flavor. I would say they reside firmly in the Finnish death metal vault (think Demigod, EARLY Amorphis, Convulse) and even have some mid paced chug along the way too. 

These are meat and potatoes tunes, the songwriting for each track lasting anywhere between two and a half to four and a half minutes. They get in and get out with elements of the afore mentioned Finnish death, some grind, blast beats and the groovier elements of metallic hardcore and even some crust punk. The first single “Congregation of the Eyeless” blasts, growls and shouts its purpose in the very best of ways, recalling Deicide and Hooded Menace if they decided they wanted a group of basketball jersey clad hxc kids to demolish each other in a pit. Earth shakingly heavy and catchy, this one, for certain. 

The ten tracks go by rather quickly here, given the relentless attention to sparse detail and surgical precision. For stuff this to the point, the shorter length of this album will definitely warrant repeat listens. The production is raw, yet bottom heavy and roomy enough to hear every instrument and vocal clearly. Overall, is it groundbreaking? No. But it's sure enjoyable and done very well. Refusal have definitely stepped up their game, delivered a high-quality record and solidified their place in Finland’s underground. They always say, “There's something rotten in Denmark”, but I think Refusal have also left some very choice cuts out too long, and we get to enjoy the spoils, if you will. 

Standout tracks- Venomous Human Concept, We Are the Undead, Congregation of the Eyeless

~TB