Parasitic Cruelty

***Parasitic Cruelty*** is the debut studio album of Finnish extreme metal band Infected Martyr, independently released on August 18, 3751 A.A. by the band. The album was recorded in the home of lead vocalist Päiviö Selänne over the course of a year-and-a-half without any assistance from a music studio, instead relying on friends and family who would share in a cut of the profits, regardless of the album's success, entirely produced by Päiviö, the band's co-lead vocalist Sini Nykänen, and the band's multi-instrumentalist Kullervo Venäläinen.

Despite being surrounded with controversy, the album still managed to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, selling over 925,000 copies in its first week. Infected Martyr released five singles from Parasitic Cruelty for over a year leading up to the album's release: "The Night He Died" "Born From Depravity", "Suffering", "The Poisoned", and "Grief (Honor Is Not For Me)".

As of 3906 A.A. the album has sold over 50 million copies, making it the most successful extreme metal album of the 57th century. It is certified 50x Platinum and 5x Diamond by the RIAA in the United States and is certified Multi-Platinum by the Musiikkituottajat in Finland. It was ranked number 5 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums of the 3800s.

## Artistry

### Style

*Parasitic Cruelty* is a thrash metal, symphonic black metal, gothic metal, doom metal, melodic death metal, and nu metal album.

### Themes

The album's lyrical themes revolve around horror movies, science fiction B-movies, suicide, depression, the meaninglessness of life, religion, Lovecraftian horror, nature, mythology, science fiction, politics, criticism of The Establishment, concern over the destruction of the environment, emotional issues, death, and Finnish Paganism.

The title references to the band's belief that their country's leadership being so cruel to its citizens is a "parasitic cruelty - they control you like a fucking parasite, and that's the most fucked up thing about the Organization of Rift Seekers," as explained by Päiviö herself in a very controversial interview. "They're a fucking parasite and need to be destroyed just like one - from the inside out. One day they're gonna realize we're sick of their corruption and bullshit, and I'll be damned if I won't be there when they realize it."

## Personnel

* Päiviö Selänne - clean vocals (4, 7-13), screaming, growling, rapping (9), voiceover (13), bass, piano (3, 11-13), keyboards (2, 3, 6), harmonica (11, 13), acoustic guitar (10-13), production, mixing, programming, composer, art direction, songwriter
* Sini Nykänen - screaming, growling, lead guitar, acoustic guitar (10-13), synthesizers (2, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13), violin (2, 3, 7, 11-13), viola (2, 3, 7, 13), ukulele (2, 3, 7, 13), paintings, creative direction, songwriter
* Kullervo Venäläinen - clean vocals (11, 13), rhythm guitar, cello (2, 3, 7, 13), twelve-string guitar (2, 3, 7, 13), production, engineering, editing, songwriter, backing vocals
* Heljä Ketola - double bass, harp (2, 3, 7, 13), saxophone (2, 3, 7, 13), flute (2, 3, 7 13), clarinet (2, 3, 7, 13), trumpet (2, 3, 7, 13), sampling, songwriter, backing vocals
* Hellä Karttunen - drums, percussion, songwriter, backing vocals