Pursuing a precipice between cavernous death metal and uptempo technical death metal, Thaumaturgy fuses an Immolation sense of harmony with the raw chromatic rushing power of an Incantation or Obituary, tunneling deep into a density of sound with multiple internal breaks creating a running dialogue.
Extreme metal exists to tell stories that do not fit into the daylight world. These songs start with simple themes and build on them in layers, then offer transitional riffs which both contrast and reinforce the dominant themes, steadily burrowing into a world outside the light.
Vocals explore the paths laid by Asphyx and Pestilence, while the music moves with its own grace despite influences from Morbid Angel and Gorguts, and the whole package integrates well without any instrument taking over from the voice of each song.
Cool, interesting riffs and vocals that are retarded in the right way.
On first listen, given the emphasis on Emperor/Graveland/Summoning-style explicit narrativism over Morbid Angel/Deicide/Gorguts-style structuralism, I feel like it’s more accurate to label this as “percussive black metal” (a phrase that’s less oxymoronic than I thought it was until listening to this!) than death metal of any sort.
‘percussive black metal’ -that’s actually a useful term. Often it’s not much more than some abrupt rhythm changes and drawing by numbers jump-scare stuff with little memorable stuff. The idea here promoted of what ‘death metal underground’ is or should be seems rather narrowly and conservatively defined. Actually I seem to remember that proposing once something more proggy for a review, I was told to go and listen to ‘YES’ and ‘Jethro Tull’ (sic!). Thanks, I said, I would if I expected anything new from relistens.
They copied some of their style from Dominus Xul, like everything it’s been done and it’s a Subway sandwich type of arrangement of everything available in death metal right now. I swear to fuck everyone is making each others albums these days, no strikes of lightning like old Deicide will happen ever again, every fan is in a band now. Enough!
Is aesthetics content? The external form has been done to death, but what about the inner form? There are still melodies to write, structures to explore, hairy half-Syrian men to fist with equally hairy arms straight to the sigmoid colon. Remember our motto at the Crocker Bar: “it’s not an asshole unless it gapes.” We call ’em goldfish.
‘Done to death’ – a great descriptor. Once I recommended here widening the scope of ‘underground death metal’ to more melodious cross-genre stuff (I think it was Orgone’s ‘Pleroma’) and was told to go back and listen to ‘YES’ and ‘Jethro Tull’. The reason why I would not wanna do that (or listen to ‘Death’ and ‘Slayer’ again and again and again) is because would make me depressed and sad.
“Orgone’s ‘Pleroma’”
Can you pick one that is not trivial and does not suck? Thanks!
Well, dear bro, the consistently good ones are really far and between. As the owner of under 20 more or less physical dm albums who does his bit of conscientious but superficial surfing of the AOTY charts, living in my off-scene bubble, I will happily admit to some lacunas. As I said there is obviously genius level ORGONE with its gnostic, non-repetitive, unpredictable, hyper-musical and non-infantile discography which I would liken in its evocativeness and heft to (nothing less than) Igor Stravinsky’s ‘Spring Sacrifice (1914). It’s just so great that I do not have to listen to much else (sic). And there is the odd memorable album I become aware of (AUTOPSY’s: ‘Headless Ritual’, 2013, Ad Nauseam: ‘Imperative…’, or the odd good song like VITRIOL’s – ‘Shame and its Afterbirth’…… Having mastered the obvious, what would you recommend???
Yeah I just don’t listen to new metal except maybe Sammath occasionally. Last night I was switching it up between drumming practice sessions with some holy terror, dead horse, vio-lence, atheist and yes even destruction. I’d be sad too if all I had to listen to was SLAYER JUST KIDDING YOURE A FAG LOL
This sounds promising, glad to see this kind of death metal is making a comeback. Speaking of comebacks, are there any new or at least active bands that mix the early extreme metal vibe with swans-influenced noise rock? Like early Godflesh or early Pitchshifter ? Anything you can say on this will be appreciated