The Annihilation of Expectation

A split CD by a pair of death metal crews, The Annihilation of Expectation does not deliver on the promise of the title. Expectations here are entirely fulfilled, and not annihilated in the least; if what the listener expects is shouted/growled vocals, blast-beat drumming, technically proficient hyperspeed guitar riffs, and a bass player apparently paid by the quarter-note, that's exactly what this disc provides. Following their symphonic synth-metal instrumental introduction, the four tracks by the Knife Trade are entirely standard-issue death metal, other than some half-hearted stabs at goth metal electronics that sound grafted onto the songs almost as an afterthought. Following that, the five songs by Through the Eyes of the Dead sound positively epic in scope, although in reality, they're simply slightly better recorded and the group has a much better drummer. They also have a fairly lame tendency to precede their songs with snippets from familiar movies, like the bit from From Hell that lends its title to "Reconstruction of the Female Anatomy," and the American Psycho lift that opens "Erratic Perception." Better than the tracks by the Knife Trade, the tracks by Through the Eyes of the Dead are still nothing special.