REVIEW: Dehydrated - Victims: Over 30 Years Of Sickness
- Jakub Tomasz Czaicki
- 20 hours ago
- 4 min read
There is lightning over the Tatras. Thunder roars high above the mountains of Slovakia once more, as the deluge of the venerable DEHYDRATED storms once more from the highland slopes directly into our ear canals. A tempest straight from 1991, their entry into 2026 with the compilation Victims: Over 30 Years Of Sickness is not just a waterfall of past and present hits: but a clear sign their best work is soon to come. While not boasting any new material, the compilation is a great teaser for things to come, and despite the DEHYDRATED name, leaves listeners refreshed and rejuvenated in a way perhaps only classic death metal can.
With indeed over thirty years of experience, the compiled history here is more an adventure through time and space than just a simple listen-along. Divided into two separate CD’s and beginning with their latest shrieks into the world of sound, the listener begins with swift and eloquent introductions to the current cast: JANEK BEZOVÝ on joyously jazz inspired bass, ROMAN LAŠŠO and his unstoppable drumming that comes to define much of the tracks on Victim and After The Funeral, and with equal pomp the oldest and newest blood. BRAŇO JURÁK’s deft skill in mastering shattering, quintessentially death-metal riffs should be no surprise; being the oldest continuous member of DEHYDRATED, all the way from 1991. MAŤO BENKOVSKÝ’s vocals, on the other hand, come from 2022; and despite only four years tenure, clearly display a mastery of the most old-school, guttural screams as demanding of a band with a name such as DEHYDRATED.
With a drummer and bassist from Trenčín, a vocalist from Trnava, and the august guitarist from the original Piešťany where the band first formed, Victims: Over 30 Years of Sickness takes one through a diverse feast of different influences, local metal traditions and new approaches that work tremendously well when combined by a band for whom the unity found in music matters most, from their first-ever 1992 Demo, Festered Find, all the way to their newest album, Victim; tracking how each member of DEHYDRATED, past and present has left their mark on the band’s sound and culture.
For this reason, Victims: Over 30 Years of Sickness offers two unique approaches: whether to begin with CD One, or CD Two. The first includes three of their albums from the second half of their discography: covering Victim (2025), the EP And Death Shall Have No Dominion (2019) and Resurrection (2017). Having reformed with the deservedly loud release of Resurrection, it well informs the newest, polished and eloquent sound of DEHYDRATED, with all the experience of the current cast audible throughout. CD Two by contrast covers DEHYDRATED’s raw, truly classic recordings: thrashing ballads that take one directly out of the studio and into the damp, sweat-filled maelstrom of a Nitra basement club- in all the right ways. Including their final release prior to their hiatus - Ideas (1997) -the DEHYDRATED half of the Fuckland/Burnt split (1994) and the aforementioned classic Festered Find (1992) demo. The compilation not only allows old and new fans to experience their favourite approaches to death metal, but provides a most-interesting insight into how the sound of such a band changes; how the styles, trends and ideas of the past reflect into the future, and how the new still holds fast to its’ bountiful lineage.
With such a catalogue, it would be near impossible to cover all the vicious, gravel-spitting poetry on offer; but special mention must be made for Cold and Bleeding, the titular And Death Shall Have No Dominion, and The Glory’s Hangman. From the haunting, undead opening to the EP and the frozen death-march and the violence manifest in the executioner’s glory, these three tracks are modern DEHYDRATED at their best: impressive control over the bpm and sheer punch ensuring any listener headbanging along with soon find themselves lunging their entire body forward instead, snarling smile plastered wide across the face.
It must be noted, however, that the compilation is but that. An easily accessible joining of the best of both old and new makes such a valuable album, but it is the unfortunate reality of time constraints that tracks and albums were not re-recorded and re-mastered for this release. This makes the age of some of the tracks on CD Two particularly audible: and while the near-feral noise reverberating from that Nitra basement is certainly audible art to behold, it leaves a little to be desired for the more casual listener. This is not just a complaint, but an admission: we want to hear more of the esteemed quality that is DEHYDRATED! CD One does more than introduce; it proves seeing what comes next is well worth waiting for, and we shall track it so with great interest.
Score: 6/10
Victims: Over 30 Years Of Sickness will be released on the 20th of February 2026, via Paragon Records.
Words: Jakub Tomasz Czaicki
Photos: Dehydrated
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