Japan’s gruesome twosome, Pharmacist have been slinging their Carcass gore grind inspired music for only a mere two years. Forensic Pathology Jurisprudence debut ep and their Medical Renditions of Grinding Decomposition debut album both unleashed in 2020 were excellent releases. Both heavily influenced by the first two Carcass albums.

In 2021 the Carnal Pollution ep ushered in more of the death metally Carcass and that trend continues on their second album Flourishing Extremities on Unspoiled Mental Grounds. This time around the Carcass Symphonies of Sickness sound is still prevalent but now also with a heaping abundance of Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious and Tools of the Trade sounds from Carcass. Therapeutist returns on drums and Pharmacist returns as vocalist/ guitarist and bassist.

“Accelerating Suppuration”, at over seven minutes, starts with immense grind blasts. Vocoder effects are still used to effect to enhance the earlier Carcass vocal vibes. The mid paced double bass moments at the 50 second mark are thunderous and the melodic Bill Steer inspired guitar solo which follows is definitely a huge Descanting…. influence and these moments are prevalent on the album. The solo continues over the double pounding and then the song slows down for a bit. The guitar disappears around the 5.30 mark and it’s just drums with a nice bass guitar strumming going along mauling bodies left to right. The melodic yet brutal music slows and the song eventually ends. At close to 8 minutes this is long with so many riffs it is a bit difficult to latch on to all at once.

“Corpus Sonica” starts with furious blasting then slows down with a great mix of Symphonies/Descanting sounds erupting. The slow creepy crawl reminds me of “Empathological Necroticism” off Symphonies of Sickness, once the song slows. This song is excruciatingly heavy. This is one of the catchier songs with awesome drum rolls and guitar solos the main guitar riff continues multiple times therefore this song is easier to latch on. This must be in their live set. I’d imagine they have session musicians in order to perform live.

“The Great Contractor” starts off so goddamned heavy no doubt leaving the brown note in your knickers. The distorted bass rumbling heaviness is truly a thing of disgusting beauty as vocals are vomited all over the song. Brutal. It’s good to have the band expand on these slower and ultra-heavier moments from past releases. Based solely on the opening of this song this is my pick for the strongest track on this album.

After a brief atmospheric instrumental “Nursery Aesthetics” closes out the album. Again, with a monster of an opening heavy AF riff. The pounding double bass on this song is crushing as are the blast beats after the mid-paced moments. Some Carcass Heartwork-inspired riffing rears its head. I wonder if the band will expand on those Carcass sounds on the next album? This is a good song but with barely any vocals this song is more of an instrumental. Ending an album with an instrumental is a no-no in my book especially if the previous song is also one. There needed to be more vocals at the beginning or in the middle of the song.

Pharmacist’s Flourishing Extremities on Unspoiled Mental Grounds is a great example of old-school Carcass done correctly. All the songs, like the previous full length, are in the 6-7+ minute range. So, it’s a lot to ask from the listener because the band inserts so many riffs into a song it’s overload. There is at least another album’s worth of material on here if some of the riffs were kept off this album and used for another release.

The production on this is the best on any Pharmacist album. The mix captures that bottom-end heaviness without sacrificing the clarity of the other instruments. Therefore, there are no muddy moments. I appreciate the blasting not getting buried. I encourage you to get this album. It’s fun, well-played, and heavier than you after your fifth go around at the Golden Corral buffet.

[Visit the band's website]

---

Comments