Decomposition, the second full-length by US / UK / German collective Cross Stitched Eyes, follows in the tradition of anarchist punk and demonised death rock (Rudimentary Peni, Amebix and Killing Joke). Embracing the many irrational and visceral shades of this style's darkest corners, the album decidedly rejects traditional copy-and-paste guidelines of musical conformity with a puncturing attitude. The harsher side of Cross Stitched Eyes derives directly from the band's artistic influences and its deconstructed presentation. Decomposition's leadoff track "We Follow" evokes reactions to seemingly unchanging lifestyles with a vitriolic diatribe. Others like "Animated Corpse" and "Earth's Defiant" display a lyrical depth seldom heard these days. At times benign, at others aggressive, Decomposition explores the complicated relationship between dark and light in a repulsive world filled with gloom. 12 new tracks recorded between 2010 and 2011 and mastered by Skott Brown of the Phantom Limbs.