I have not had the pleasure of hearing Detrimentum’s debut on Grindethic but by all accounts it appears the band has slimmed down to a trio recruiting Anaal Nathrakh’s live drummer Steve Powell to pound the shit out of you. I have always admitted to finding technical death metal a major challenge to listen to and I would never claim to understand all the intricacies of the guitar playing by any means but at least UK’s Detrimentum give each riff, lead, fill and bass run a chance to be digested before it is usurped by another.

Opener “The Crimson Legacy” is a somewhat tamer tune compared to the songs composed on the rest of this album. Noticeably the guitar break half way in has Pestilence slapped all over it. There is a deserved arrogance in the ambitions undertaken within each composition as the band goes about crafting complex yet accessible death metal songs that are true to what old gits like me call real death metal. Second tune is “Pestilence Shared With The Worms” is an epic song clocking seven minutes of Morbid Angel style drum battery, something that Steve Powell executes with clinical precision. I did sense some Death traits on the guitar melodies, being lingering and atmospheric giving you plenty of chance to marvel at the guitar work of both Paul and Jonathan (who also plays bass).

This album has a myriad of styles which isn’t to say Detrimentum don’t have their own unique stamp on technical death metal because they damn well do. There is progressiveness to “Ascension” that fits more with the likes of Opeth or even The Ocean in places but admittedly it is much heavier as the song advances inexorably to its crushing climax with blurring blasts and manic fills. In general terms there are huge similarities to Necrophagist and the latter Gorguts material, even Gorod comes to mind despite that bands drift towards a more deathcore like style. It is difficult to deny the obvious talent and supremely executed guitar work that is exhibited on “Inhuman Disgrace”, in fact it is a masterclass of technical death metal with progressive leanings that are unafraid to challenge the listener at a level of complexity that is infused with infectious skill. Bloody marvellous stuff.

(8/10 Martin Harris)

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