This is death metal.  This is just DEATH FUCKING METAL.  I mean after 8-10 good spins of this album, that’s about the best way to sum this up.  If you haven’t heard of Depravity, it might be because they’re in the middle of the ocean on the continent of Australia, and this is their first full length album.  They had an EP before this, but having not heard that one and this being my first exposure to this band, holy hell is this a smashing debut.

The band comparison that kept coming to mind while going through this album was Aborted, and it’s an apt comparison, but don’t let that fool you into thinking this is pure mimicry.  Vocalist Jamie Kay brings the Sven Caluwe-styled death growl, with a dual guitar attack from Jarrod Curley and Lynton Cessford, with the rhythm section rounded out by bassist Ainsley Watkins and drummer Louis Rando (who seriously has like 10 ex-bands after his name on metal-archives.com).

It’s just pure fucking destruction from the beginning, with opening track “Manic Onslaught” doing exactly that to your eardrums.  Things only let off the gas for a bit with halfway track “The Great Divide” starting out a bit slower, but then gets this tank rolling back on its path of destruction until closer “Vile Defloration” ends with a mid-paced denouement.

On top of all that you get some well-placed tempo changes and guitar solos throughout the entire 40 minute run time, along with a nicely heavy yet not overly-produced mixing job.  There’s really not much to NOT like here.  In a year that has been somewhat hit-or-miss so far in the death metal realm, this one is an absolute must-listen. 

[Visit the band's website]

---

Comments