Foolishly believing himself safe within the chalk circle, Richard Benton opens the book of dead names, and gleans secrets best forgotten from its suspiciously pale leather page.

Father Befouled – Crowned In Veneficum (Everlasting Spew)

It has become something of a tradition that any coverage of Father Befouled has to include a reference to Incantation, but though that comparison is a clear one, they’ve been playing dense, writhing chaotic death metal for long enough now to be considered their own entity. Crowned In Veneficum (Everlasting Spew) demonstrates an absolute mastery of their chosen style, seamlessly blending crushing doom riffing and discordant lurching riffs into the maelstrom of blasting.

 

Desolate Shrine – Fires Of The Dying World (Dark Descent)

Another band who’ve been doing their thing long enough to own it are Finland’s Desolate Shrine, whose Fires Of The Dying World (Dark Descent) continues their reign of desolate, pitch-black doom death. The production this time is sharper and cleaner, which can lessen the murky weight of their sound, but also draws their talent for sinister melody into greater focus – and fortunately their song-writing is as strong as ever.

 

Corpsessed – Succumb To Rot (Dark Descent)

Another Finnish monstrosity, Corpsessed – Succumb To Rot (Dark Descent) leave off the funereal atmospherics in favour of sheer crushing weight. Though not dabbling in dissonance in the modern sense, there’s nevertheless something twisted and disorientating in the way their sinuous riffs unfold.

 

 

Cryptworm – Spewing Mephitic Putridity (Me Saco un Ojo).

A similarly unrelenting attack comes from Bristolians Cryptworm offer a compellingly horrible car-crash of Machetazo, early Carcass and Mortician (in a good way) on Spewing Mephitic Putridity (Me Saco un Ojo). There’s nothing original or daring on display here, but the band’s utter devotion to sounding as rancid and ugly as possible renders that irrelevant, as does their sharp playing and keen ear for dynamics.

 

Pestilength – Basom Gryphos (Self-Released)

Being a death metal fan can sometimes mean finding a way to live with band names that are pretentious, clumsy or problematic – but I’ll confess that I’ve got absolutely no idea what’s going on with Pestilength. Fortunately, the music on Basom Gryphos (Self-Released) is confusing in the right way – a disorientating mass of discordant riffing and jarring atmospherics reminiscent of fellow Basque collective Altarage with a more blackened dynamic.

 

Cabinet – Claustrophobic Dysentery (Bloody Mountain)

Speaking of names… Cabinet. You heard me. Bizarrely, as ridiculous as it sounds on paper, once the intoxicating noise death of Claustrophobic Dysentery (Bloody Mountain) starts to seep from the speakers, that name seems oddly appropriate. A dense swamp of sewage-thick guitars and electronic noise, this is a sound which seeks to overwhelm the listener through sheer horror – and betrays a surprising grasp of dynamics and atmospherics in the process.

RICHARD BENTON