Iowa has been known as a hot bed of metal talent since its greatest find, Slipknot, was discovered several years ago. Now Grinnell, Iowa’s latest, Dead Horse Trauma have released Infestation to the masses. But will this Infestation be quickly contained, or spread worldwide?

From the beginning of the album, you will immediately notice that these guys sound nothing like their name suggests. With a moniker like Dead Horse Trauma, you would probably think of brutal bands like Cattle Decapitation, Cannibal Corpse or Goatwhore. But au contraire, mon frère, DHT are nothing of the sort. These guys sound like a nu-metal blend of Twisted Method, Grade 8, Primer 55 and Factory 81. Vocally, DHT incorporate two vocalists, with Eric Peterson handling the majority of the vocal duties, while Joey Vice does both sampling and background vocals.

In the opening track, “Chemicult,” the uber-metallic riffing slams and grooves, while the double bass pummels your senses. Peterson’s vocals are a double edge sword, though. He has a scream that would make a demon cringe, but it’s usually hidden under a layer of distortion, along with singing that comes off a little whiny at times. The song is pretty solid, but it’s rather repetitive and could’ve been trimmed a bit.

“Infestation” is the first single and video off the album. The eerie, clean guitar work transitions nicely into a big wall of distortion, mixed with pounding drums and underlying keys that don’t sound half bad. But the problem really comes when the verses kick in. I have heard this verse style a zillion times before back in the early 2000′s. The clean guitar and bouncy drums are mixed with a “flow” that is immediately carried into a heavier bridge and followed by a melodic, heavy chorus. The end feels strangely familiar again with your typical double bass layered by a guitar lick, with some singing and screaming intertwined.

A track that totally caught my ear was “Unspoken.” Right from the start, the bass line tells you that the bottom is about to just freakin’ drop out. The guitar grooves are thick, heavy and just killer. The vocal style in this track is pretty cool because they run like Nothingface meets Factory 81. So it’s totally in-your-face and nastier than a Jeanine Garofalow sex tape. What else can I say? This song is just totally sick and twisted.

DHT do the unthinkable and somewhat unforgivable with “Never Safe.” They incorporate clean guitar with a drum loop, samples and horrid rap stylings. They make it even worse when they kick into the chorus. DHT try to make a big, open sing-along chorus that comes across way too forced and is an absolute disaster. This song sounds like it was stolen from the recycle bin of Primer 55.

The album does however end on a high note with “Synapse.” The huge guitars move right along, while the drums, bass, and keys add the perfect groove behind them. Peterson’s vocals are both precise and deadly as they move and slither perfectly over the track. The song picks up the pace near the middle and could definitely cause some folks in the pit to see their local dentist the next morning.

Infestation is a mixed bag of both promise and disappointment. Dead Horse Trauma seem like a band that is full of potential, but are stuck in a genre that was shot, burned and buried many years ago. Dead Horse Trauma do have some seriously sick licks, but the album is plagued with mediocre songwriting and a long dead style.

3.0/5