Cardiac Arrest have always been proficient at penning material with an urgent immediacy, and although some songs are distinctly better than others, a collection of great choruses shine through — the memory of Adam Scott’s incessant vocal savaging barking the respective refrains of “Unforgiving… Unrelenting” and “It Takes Form” remain grafted to my psyche. Sadly, while blessed with a roomy production, the album’s mix is a little lacking for drummer Nick Gallichio. His kick drum is almost imperceptible, so when the band let a searing tempo off the chain, which is often, I’m only aware of a distant kinetic presence to underpin the man’s able blasting. It’s an interesting commentary on the innately contrary nature of both semantics and human nature that we actively shun “predictability” whilst sub-consciously craving “dependability”. Cardiac Arrest are predictably dependable, and A Parallel Dimension of Despair is no different. This is one-size-fits-all death metal that will appeal mostly to fans of the genre, so if you’re searching for that record to redefine your lacking brutal bent, then this isn’t the beating you’re looking for. However, for those of us already beguiled, Cardiac Arrest have furnished us with another feral foray into the old school, that proves ingenuity isn’t always necessary to entertain.
