A debut mini-album from this brutal death metal act that comprises some current and ex-members of Guttural Secrete and Cerebral Incubation. Knowing that should give you an indication as to the bludgeoning sonic horror held within the five songs here as there is very little subtlety throughout the 17 minutes plus duration as opener ‘Mindful Abomination’ sinks its rabid brutalising teeth into your mouldy flesh. Technical elements run through all the songs like blood in veins, offering some astute musicianship that fans of Cryptopsy will like alongside some excellent trickery that makes these songs stand out from the myriad of acts that play this sort of death metal. Added to the whole brutalising affair are the hideous terrorising vocals and a drum sound that is entirely seismic. With hyper blasting on the opener the band like to vary the tempos hugely, from said warp speed blasts to much more groove infested rhythms that I really liked.
‘Absolved In The Abyss’ follows the opener and here we get some Dying Fetus touches due to the guitar work predominantly but also the way the vocals deviate from the gut wrenching bellows to high end punishing screams as, like I said, the drum sound is absolutely monstrous. The rumbling start on ‘Constricting The Ambient Noise’ has a dread you’d expect before the detonation as the song smashes in with terrifying nihilism utilising some fine double kick work set against the maelstrom of the riffs that inundate from every angle.
The songs seem to flow into each other to some degree which I is cool as it never gives you the opportunity to take a breather, preferring the obliterating onslaught that continues on ‘Terminal Spreading Depolarisation’. It’s slightly shorter duration means it is explosive and has a slight controlled chaotic aura with deluges of riff changes, hooks and shearing tempo variations to keep you on your toes. Closing the release we get ‘Delusions Of Morality’ and occasionally on brutal death metal albums the bands seem to switch to a more experimental style and usually a tad slower, but not this bunch, momentum is retained as the song produces an unhinged battering ethos amongst its brutally heavy guitar work and thundering drum work, all pinned down by the colossal amount of bass afforded within the mix.
2023 gets off to a gruesome, grotesque and bulldozing start with this mini-album, one that sets the bar in the scene very high indeed and you’ll be hard pressed to find a set of songs as massacring as these.
(8.5/10 Martin Harris)
Leave a Reply