Way back in 2005, I reviewed the third album from Poland’s Trauma, Imperfect Like a God. It was a killer Polish death metal album culling from all the usual Polish death metal peers. In my opinion, it was as good as many of Poland’s larger, better known bands, but at the time like Country mates Parricide, Lost Soul and Hate, were a bit underrated in the vast (and deserved) shadow cast by Vader, Behemoth and Decapitated.

That said, for reasons unknown, (OK, I lied ,it was deatchore and metalcore) I never followed up or heard subsequent albums like DetermiNation, Neurotic Mass, Archetype of Chaos, or their last album from 7 years ago, Karma Obscure. But even with a 7 year hiatus and 15 year gap since I actually have heard them last, these guys appear to have not lost a beat as Ominous Black is another killer Polish death metal album.

With the lineup that produced Imperfect, (which i revisited to prepare for this return), and a perfect mix/master from the Polish death metal go to Studio, Hertz studio with the Wiesławski brothers (Behemoth, Vader, Lost Soul, Decapitated, Hate), the end result is pretty much perfect Polish death metal that again culls from all the country’s heavyweights but still manages to have an energy and vitriol that makes it more than mere homage.

The 9 song, 44 minute run time delivers ample amounts of blisteringly violent, almost tech death and slower punishing controlled violence. It’s pretty much all encapsulated in the album’s first 3 killer tracks, throttling opener “Inside the Devils Heart”, pummeling “Insanity of Holiness”, and lurching longer track “Astral Misanthropy”. Shit, and that’s  just 3 tracks, Trauma continue the bludgeoning with the next 7 tracks, all delivering the goods.

You get the absolutely punishing standout “Soul Devourer”, the slightly more off kilter barbarity of “Among the Lies”, more slower, massive lumberer in “I Am Universe”,  closer “Colossus” and stomping absolute death metal perfection of “The Black Maggots”. There’s not a bad song or bad riff here. It’s all perfect death metal.

After a 7 year layoff, Trauma have come out of nowhere and delivered one of 2020’s early. great death death metal albums. lets hope Vader’s upcoming Solitude in Madness is up to the challenge.

[Visit the band's website]

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