Natron - Livid Corruption
2004 Holy Records

Track Listing:
1.  House Of Festering
2.  Livid
3.  Red Creeps
4.  One Step In Murder
5.  Hatemonger
6.  Flatline
7.  White Worms
8.  Nyctophobic
9.  The Dead Rise Above

Line-Up:
Vocals:  Mike Tarantino
Guitars:  Domenico Mele
Bass:  Michael Maggi
Drums:  Max Marzocca

Website:  www.natron.it

Shev's Rating:  B-
Overall Album Rating:  B-

Shev's Review:
I'll be honest with you...the first time I heard this I hated it.  Simply passed it off as your typical brutal death metal schlock revolving around practically indecipherable noise and the occasional movie/TV clip.  This actually struck me a little strange since I usually like practically all death metal that comes out of Italy.  So I set it aside, and a couple weeks later gave it another spin.  More of the same.  It was obvious that they were trying to separate themselves a little bit from the rest of the genre, but it just wasn't enough.  Even after a few more listens, Livid Corruption struck me as a complete dud...but then it started to click. It only took about five complete spins, but it started to make some sense.

Livid Corruption is actually a highly technical death metal band which uses the generic brutal death sound as a blanket.  As background music, this comes across as completely generic pap.  Stuffy guitars, typical grunts, and machine gun drumming.  It's only after closer inspection does one realize exactly what Natron has to offer.  The riffing and general guitar work are borderline genius, at times pulling off some technical wizardry and other times choosing to stay towards the front of the pack with a more simple, memorable approach.  The bass is performed with a much cleaner delivery than is normally expected from the genre, not only adding depth to the guitars and also separating the music into an easier-to-digest form when needed.  As for the drumming...well, it's pretty cut and dry.  It's not bad as it fits the music very well, but overall nothing that really stands out like the guitar, bass, and overall song writing.

Overall, there are still a couple of weak songs.  The opening "House Of Festering" and "One Step In Murder" are pretty boring...as is "White Worms" which is nothing more than a long, atmospheric intro almost in the middle of the album.  Not only does it completely ruin the flow of the album along with the final two songs, but unless it's condensed to a ten second snippet it really has no business being on here.  Standout tracks include "Livid" and "Flatline", both of which easily separate themselves from the rest of the pack in technical dexterity and overall integrity.  As it stands, Natron is not a band one can just throw on and expect to get into it as background music.  It's not an easy listen.  It's one of those rare brutal death metal albums that will force you to pay attention and think if you expect to get anything out of it.  It certainly could have been better, but those Italians never fail to please.
Shev's Rating:  B-

Discography (last updated 12.30.05):
Force demo - 1994
Unpure - 1996
A Taste Of Blood demo - 1997
Hung, Drawn & Quartered - 1997
Negative Prevails - 1999
Bedtime For Mercy - 2000
Necrospective - 2003
Livid Corruption - 2004