Comatose Music, the Willowtip of brutal death metal, has been known to unearth some gems. Underground heavyweights such as Kraanium, Septycal Gorge, Dysentery and Lust of Decay have, or still do, call the label home. They’ve snatched up Logic of Denial for their second full-length, one that pulls from the relentlessly punishing template known to fans of Origin, Hour of Penance, and even label-mates Antropofagus. It’s a style that can cause ADHD in the hands of lesser talent, but if it’s pulled off this well, it brings a smile to fans of all things brutal.

Not wasting any time with a weak-ass intro, these Italians take a bat to your eardrums the minute you hit play. Vocalist Mattia Gatti has a killer death growl that doesn’t grate, Alessandro D’Antone pumps out the riffs and slams, and drummer Daniele Costa must have hummingbird wings for feet; holy hell is that dude fast. But thankfully, unlike a lot of brutal death metal, the low end is not forgotten as Marcello Tavernari’s bass provides a solid backbone for this machine to run on. The production is a little low but solid, so you’ll need to pump up the volume knob a bit more to really get the full effect of this album.

It’s not all a slam fest, as you get a nice sweep solo about 2 minutes into the first track “Reek of Perpetual Infamy”, and others are peppered throughout the album. But don’t worry there are plenty of slams to keep the pit happy and uphold the recipe for brutality. The band even shows a mild level of restraint with tracks such as “Catharsis through Ungodly Annihilation” and “Despondency”, which helps to provide a bit of contrast to the entire maelstrom. And that’s what is further impressive about this album, despite its 40 minute run time I never once looked at my watch. If I have to nitpick for a second, they did decide to use one too many samples from the “Saw” movies, which are about as fresh and impactful in the land of metal as the latest “Harlem Shake” video. Seriously bands need to shelve those or find ones less played out.

But that very small gripe aside, I can’t recommend this album enough. Even the artwork is impressive. With some of the big names such as Devourment putting out less than stellar efforts, and the first of this year being pretty disappointing overall, the underground has been a gold mine so far; this is easily one of the best in the first quarter of 2013. And if you like this one also check out their first album, Necrogenesis, as you’ll see where the groundwork was laid for this latest output.

[Visit the band's website]

---

Comments