Italians Electrocution return after years in the wilderness with their second full length album ‘Metaphysincarnation’, which for me is already a front runner for the ‘most difficult album to pronounce when drunk’ award for 2014. Having been known mainly for their debut from 1993, an original physical copy of ‘Inside the Unreal’ was renowned for being a highly sought after gem in death metal lore, its name spoken in hushed whispers in the darkest corners of the internet. The contributing factors of its release on a tiny label, little to no distribution and most importantly high quality music meant it was revered in many a metal forum, the knock on effect causing eBay scalpers to have a field day until it received a long awaited reissue last year.
So, how does Electrocution 2014 fare in comparison to their classic material from 20+ years ago? In all honesty, not too badly. Sure, ‘Metaphysincarnation’ doesn’t quite measure up to their debut as is often the case with bands who return to the fold after quite so much time away, but there is still a lot to like here. Opening with ‘Wireworm’, the opening down tuned chords smash you with evil sounding chants as an accompaniment, before the starting pistol fires and all hell is unleashed. I can hear chunks of the Floridian death metal scene in their sound (as was the case all those years ago too), with Deicide’s speed and Morbid Angel’s disharmony pushed to the forefront, but with the boosted production values of this release, I can hear a lot of the modern polished Polish death metal sound too, with thrashing yet chunky riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Vader or Dies Irae album. Come the mid-album mark, tracks such as ‘Bloodless’ and ‘Panopticon’ actually have moments which recall ‘Human’ era Death (but perhaps without quite the progressiveness) with tremolo picked guitars and duelling dual solos packed with melodious guitar gymnastics. It’s the mix between the varying inspirations in styles that makes this album what it is, giving off vibes of other bands without necessarily sounding like a carbon copy. The acoustic guitar piece ‘Aliento Del Diablo’ revives me every time, standing vividly out from the bombast and carpet bombing, refreshing my palette for the obese sounding ‘Spirals in Tension’ and the majestic album closer ‘Anthropocentric’ (which after many spins is one of my favourite tracks on the album).
Returning reinvigorated after their near two decade slumber, it would seem Electrocution are ready to take on the world with their fast, catchy and sparkling brand of death metal. Thrashy riffs, a monstrous low end and good old fashioned song writing make for a happy listener, so keep a mental note of ‘Metaphysincarnation’ next time you’re looking for some polished deathly goodness to abuse your ears with.
(7.5/10 Lars Christiansen)
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