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| #FOR FANS OF: Brutal Death Metal, Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation |
One of the biggest and most impressive debuts in quite a while, this is an impeccable slab of Brutal Death Metal that should get them off to a great start in their career. Filled with absolutely amazing guitar-work that gets incredibly tight and technical with its rhythms, this feature has the album’s best quality pegged right off the bat as this demonstrates the band’s penchant for old-school riffing that carries an incredibly brutal edge here. It’s incredibly technical and blistering the way it manages to utilize those kinds of riff-patterns in here as the various patterns and arrangements are placed in the most exciting rhythms possible for this type of brutality as the multitude of riffing performances provide this with a rather dynamic vibe as both the thrashing technicality and brutality here get mixed together with a boundless energy. As well, the fact that it switches these tempos with a series of sprawling, Doom-like tempos causes this to get an extra sense of old-school brutality as the sickening, sprawling paces not only gives this an unexpected sense of melody by slowing down the intensity of the rhythms against the blasting full-throttle thrashing paces but also gives this a special dynamic by offering a varied form of attack that works exceptionally well alongside the rest of the material. By doing this extra attack-pattern along the different up-tempo variations furthers the darkened tone of this one by laying a thick, heavy tone here that really allows the dark, oppressive atmospheres to really flow throughout this which really amps up that old-school feel incredibly well. Bolstered by unrelenting blasting drumming, loud, thumping bass-lines and deep, guttural growls throughout this one it has the kind of throbbing, heavy bottom-end that carries the darker melodies and rhythms along with this kind of thrashing technicality to leave an imposing, overall enjoyable experience. The songs are just as good once it gets past the ‘Intro’ which gets things started with hellish sounds and vocals. Proper first track ‘Tortured Mentality’ showcases the band at its best with raging riff-work along dynamic tempo changes and furious drumming which really shows off the rather impressive soundscape in here. The short, brutal thrasher ‘Illusions of Anguished Awakening’ brings immediate drumming and furious razor-wire technical riff-work into a short, condensed version of their sound as the blistering tempos carry on throughout. Both ‘Condemned to Existence’ and ‘Vomit the Impulse’ are all about pounding rhythms, full-throttle tempo changes with complex riff-work and intense drumming blasting along frantic razor-wire patterns throughout. ‘Spawn of the Sacrilege’ goes back to their traditional round of tight drumming, furious technicality and being able to feature slower paces throughout before thrashing in the final half. The blistering ‘Enthrallment’ and the title track offer up charging technicality, intense thrash paces and heavy, ominous riffs along the thunderous drumming along the dynamic tempos for rather well-done tracks. ‘Echoes in the Chasm’ sends it all back where it came from by featuring blistering tempos and tight, sprawling rhythms along the raging riff-work for another all-together furious track to end this on a high-note. While it can cause this to blend together somewhat as the material can sound the same throughout, this is so competently played and enjoyable that it can overcome this quite easily. (Don Anelli)
(Pagan Pride Records - 2014)
Score: 90