Ever wonder what it would sound like if you mixed Disgorge with Malignancy? Germany’s Focal Dystonia is absolutely melting my brain and may be answer to my own question.  Featuring guitarist Floor Van Kujik (Korpse) and drummer Florent Duployer.  This one would have completely missed my radar had a not just randomly took a chance on listening to them based on the band name.  Boy!  Am I glad I did.  “Subjected in Sickness” is one of my favorite tracks on this.  I was not expecting guitar solos.   With this style they are not really needed but definitely add more color to this 31-minute banger.

I must say that the drum work by Duployer is absolutely all over the place and crushing.  This may very well be too tech for some slam kids and too slammy for some tech kids but to me this is the best mix of both. Being that this is just their first album I am impressed by how incredibly locked in this is for a group consisting of just a few people.  Credit to The Focal Dystonia lineup. “Everlasting Diabolic Seizures” has some of the sickest vocals on the record.  Epic Toad Throat! Absolutely brutal.  Comatose Records has found another winner.

“The Glacial Distorted Bone” wins award for best song title on the album.  It is relentless as the rest of the album.    What is also interesting for me in writing the review of this is not knowing who the surprise vocal is on this.  Whoever is handling that department did a wonderful job and this is one of the better face rippers of brutal death metal that I have heard this year. “Scorching the Soul” might have some of the fastest blasting on the album.  Also, there are enough pinch harmonics done on this to wear out 9-volt battery in a pair of active pickups in a guitar.  That basically means a lot.

Flow wise most of the tracks are around the same length and the album just pummels you for 31 minutes.  This is a lot of fun.   The closing title track, “Descending (In)Human Flesh” continues in the same style as of the rest of the album.  This is one of my favorite albums of this year and it just streeted earlier this month.   Do yourself a favor and get brutalized by this.

[Visit the band's website]

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