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| #For Fans of: Brutal New York Death, Suffocation, Skinless, Immolation |
The fourth release from New York bruisers Pyrexia, 'Feast of Iniquity,' brings about another mark for a band without much in the way of originality this deep into their career. Basically, this is pretty much one speed all the way throughout, which is hyper-speed drumming with overbearing fills thumping away with tight, oppressive rhythms executed by the blazing guitars with the occasional burst of fluid riff patterns but far too often relies on the dynamic breakdown associated with the NY side of the Death Metal scene. Filled with Hardcore-like chugging, thunderous drumming and a near scream/growl vocal style, this band fits in pretty heavily with that side of the country that produced such music early on which obviously comes from the heavy Hardcore/Punk scene that inspired those early users that gave Pyrexia their motifs. Tracks like "The Pendulum," "Death Wish" and "Cocoon of Shame" all pretty much follow the same path of brutal guitar riffs, breakdowns into vicious chugs and non-stop pounding drumming that takes on a different dynamic due to how loud it is in the mix. This is pretty much the standard for how the album works, even though there’s a few surprises here and there. "Thy Minion" does offer up a few different change-ups with some decent guitar flurries mixed into the bunch, "Cryptic Summoning" has a fine up-tempo vibe that recalls the more fluid riffing patterns of Immolation in select spots and certainly "Panzer Tank Lobotomy" generates a few special dynamics with its creepy pace and blistering performances. The main selling point here, though, is undeniably "Wheel of Impunity," which has more technical riffing than anything else on the album, full-on riff changes and a dynamic, unrelenting attitude that’s utterly pulverizing as it blasts through its opposition. This is most certainly the best song on here, and does help to save this from too much repetitious riffing and patterns that can make this blend together into one huge blur of noise and screaming grunts, but for the fans who eat this style of metal up this is certainly fine material overall. (Don Anelli)
(Unique Leader Records - 2013)
Score: 75