Type: Full-length
Label: Relics
Country: Belarus
Genre: Technical Death Metal/Grindcore
-written by Noktorn of metal-archives.com
A MUSICAL BRAZIL NUT
Belarus is hardly known as a hotbed of heavy metal activity; apart from Posthumous Blasphemer here, the only band from the nation I can recall encountering off the top of my head is quirky funeral doom juggernaut Reido - hardly an extensive resume. Still, like many others have expressed feeling, artists coming from a typically forgotten or ignored nation tend to pique my interest due to geography alone. It's always interesting to see the sort of regional sounds that develop in the strangest places- who would think, for instance, that such an immediately recognisable style of brutal death metal (or two, from that matter) would emerge from Colombia? With my only experience with Belarusian metal so far being Reido, I eagerly listened to "Putrespermfaction Versus Fertiholyzation", wondering what parallels between the two bands I might discover and expand upon.
Well, not fucking much it turns out.
Posthumous Blasphemer plays technical brutal death- a rather unique variety of it, for that matter, which eschews the style's most obvious tropes in favor of a nimble, multidirectional musical attack, led by a drum machine which provides an unblinking mechanical ferocity to the proceedings and sets the tone for the music in general: sadistic, calculating, complex, and challenging. The music on "Putrespermfaction Versus Fertiholyzation" most closely resembles American techbrutes like Insidious Decrepancy or Syphilic (though the latter obviously appeared on the scene too late to provide an influence,) but the resemblance isn't merely in the drum machine. Posthumous Blasphemer echoes these bands' convulsive, twisting style of death metal which hearkens, at its most primitive roots, to Suffocation: claustrophobic, oppressive collections of dissonant power chords erupt into needling tremolo configurations, with a deliberately awkward sense of timing and rhythm which keeps the listener off-balance and ill at ease. The only reprieve is found in tension-laced, ominous grooves that bring to mind a more technically-focused Fleshgrind. It's not good time slam like Devourment, utterly chaotic tech terrorism ala Malignancy, or even obvious exploration of the avant-garde such as Sickening Horror; instead, it dwells within what I consider the most challenging and demanding subsection of tech death: the ulra-deliberate, painstakingly composed hammer to the forehead of Suffocation and its elaborating children, demanding your attention and focus even while you lay broken on the ground.
You'll notice that the bands I compare Posthumous Blasphemer to are all on the more mechanical, crushing end of the tech death spectrum; this is hardly coincidence. Apart from the lone appearance of a clean guitar the album's close, Posthumous Blasphemer seem dedicated to removing any trace of humanity or emotion from their music apart from grinding, monotonous, unstoppable anger. The drum machine and its cooperating riff sets possess a harsh, unyielding rigidity, which when combined with the dry, sun-cracked-earth production style on display makes for an album rather trying on both the ears and the mind. While the occasional solo pops up (a clear nod both in use and style to Suffocation,) neither the leads nor the riffs possess any trace of melody, instead dwelling in the deepest reaches of scraping dissonance this side of "Obscura." The long, complex tracks are very linear in construction but as far from organic as things get, with new riffs and rhythms getting introduced with all the ceremony of a jail cell door slamming shut. If you were to transport the stereotypical idea of what death metal sounds like to the average alt-rock listener onto a CD, there's a good chance it would greatly resemble this one; it invites no one and gives no quarter to those who do decide to challenge it.
Much like the early work of Fleshgrind or nearly the entirety of Suffocation's discography, this is an album which I appreciate without particularly "enjoying." Even the most die-hard tech death fan would have trouble expressing a conventional sense of enjoyment from this music; if "Serpents of the Light" is a hamburger and "Pierced From Within" is a rare porterhouse, "Putrespermfaction Versus Fertiholyzation" is a blue slab of New York strip, almost daring onlookers to give it a try. This style of tech death is the very definition of an acquired taste; even I, with extensive experience in this sort of music, find it challenging to listen to more than once in a sitting. The sheer number of riffs, contrasting rhythms, and seething gut-punch growls makes for an exhausting listen for just about anyone. The only aspect of this album that makes it even harder is that it rather obviously has no artistic conceit; the only objective that exists is to take sandpaper to the listener's eardrums and provide music so brutal and convoluted that other death metal bands cower in fear.
While this is a remarkably well-crafted work, it's also one that avoids conventional musical pleasure at each and every turn. The most hardened and steel-gazed of the tech/brutal death scene would be advised to give it a try, but those who thought "Breeding the Spawn" was a tough listen would be advised to stay away: it only gets worse from there.
74/100
No comments:
Post a Comment