If you’ve been perusing the Ave Noctum website for a number of years then you know that I have covered quite a few of Comatose Music’s releases during that time, in fact I’ve done over 20 of them. Added to that Comatose is a favourite label of mine and I do track down their releases when I can whether physically or digitally to such an extent that I have listened to over 100 of the labels releases out of the possible 150 plus that exist. One thing you can always rely on is outright uncompromising brutality and whilst you could say that the majority of releases follow a similar formula they all have their own nuances and tricks to keep the listener engaged with what is being released, which is very frequent I might add.

US act Brutalism are new to the label’s roster and have been given the opportunity to unleash a veritable onslaught with their debut album ‘Solace In Absurdity’, though I should add that all the band members reside in other acts such as Barn, Texas Katemine, Bombed and Regurgitated Entrails to name a few. Previously the band released a three way split with two of those bands listed in 2023 and have followed it nicely with this full length of battering brutal death metal. Like many of the acts on Comatose there is penchant for dealing out healthy chunks of technicality and this album is no different though the album is firmly within the brutal realms of death metal for certain. After a short intro piece called ‘Introlism’ which instead of using some sort of sampling or atmospheric effects opts for a metal based intro sequence that builds towards main opener ‘Asphyxiating On Vomitous Excretion’ where the blurring blast fest flattens everything within a five mile radius. Hyperbole aside the moment this track starts you just know that the album is going to be as uncompromisingly savage as it is technically adroit as the production afforded is slightly murkier than one would ordinarily expect for the genre. True the tin can like snare drum sound is present but for some reason it embeds so neatly into the riffing that it isn’t as noticeable. For those that prefer that sound, then I think you will miss that side of this subgenre but for me it listens more organically as the title track follows in suitably bludgeoning fashion.

With no time to breathe the title track is an assault, its pulverising prowess belies the musicianship of the band members as it offers excellent guitars hooks and sporadic tech bursts to keep you on your toes. ‘Astrocytomic Hemorrhaging’ continues the voracious sonic devastation as strikingly the drum work has a slight chaotic structuring that adds to the album’s manic nature but is always highly controlled and matches the riffing and complexity of the songs overall. With a sample from the first Deathwish film where Bronson says ‘Bang… You’re Dead’, ‘Accelerated Decrepitude’ is monstrously heavy and punishing from start to finish. The carnivorous vocal barks are melded to the guttural roars superbly ensuring there is some tonal dexterity in the vocal arrangements as ‘Flesh Pyramid’ offers no respite from the outright bombardment this album purveys. There are plenty of riff changes within the songs too, adding to the momentum, layering on increasing levels of brutality especially with the intermittent blast work outs.

Screams, screeches and terror stricken sampling greets you on ‘Sickening Synaptic Pathways’ as this one reminded me heavily of Immolation due to its interweaving guitar hooks and squeals plus the oppressive choking aura. As the album enters its closing few tracks ‘Compulsive Acts Of Repulsion’ is a slightly longer affair at just over four minutes and throughout its duration you are subjected to a bewildering amount of riff changes set against that utterly bombarding drum style. ‘Consuming Obsession’ is the penultimate tune and contrasts hugely with the much longer closer ‘Asyncritus’. The former is business as usual, where the use of a sample leads the song down channels of oppressive density and obliterating speed. The closer is over seven minutes and as expected is a much more experimental affair, it gives the band an opportunity to explore additional horrifying sonic textures though you wouldn’t think so when it kicks off with blasting annihilation. It is ultra-fast here, possibly the fastest start of any of the songs but as it progresses it twists and cavorts around its central riff and gut wrenching vocal tones. The song slows down considerably giving it a suffocating ethos that was present on other tunes but has been focused here for maximum impact. The technical aspects of this band really come to the fore, every nuance on the guitar work, every drum pattern and vocal tone has been thought out, carefully constructed for a tune of intransigent inhumanity.

Yet another bulldozing release from Comatose, one that straddles the brutal death and tech death genres cohesively to absolutely beat you to a pulp.

(8.5/10 Martin Harris)

https://www.facebook.com/BrutalismBand

https://comatosemusic.bandcamp.com/album/solace-in-absurdity