Long-time followers of metal’s best underground
label, Dark Descent Records, have had quite a wait for the second record from
Finland’s Gorephilia. After 5 years, the band is about to release their
sophomore release, entitled “Severed Monolith”. The band’s music is new to me,
but it’s easy to see why people would be anxious for a release from this group. “Severed
Monolith” successfully captures many elements of what made the best old-school
death metal bands great. Morbid Angel in particular seems to be the biggest influence, as this album has twisted, sadistic riffing that utilizes uncommon
intervals and harmonies, in addition to schizophrenic soloing. There are plenty of rolling double bass grooves, as
well as a sufficient amount of chaotic blasting. Nobody can truly emulate Pete
Sandoval, but Gorephilia’s drummer does an admirable job.
“Severed Monolith” does have a tendency to
blend together. Though the songs themselves provide plenty of variety, few tracks
rise above the others to make any meaningful impact, as this record is best enjoyed as a whole. Perhaps the lone exception
to this is the epic that almost closes the record, “Crushed Under The Weight of
God”. This song is as massive as its title implies, and though its length of
nearly 10 minutes exceeds almost anything by Morbid Angel, this track shows
Gorephilia with their best worship of the Floridian legends.
The remainder of the album is similar in
style, but not quite as memorable. Nevertheless, the band also displays other
influences, including doomier sections, as well as more dissonant,
Immolation-esque moments. The band isn’t afraid to have lengthier instrumental
sections, or even just use haunting screams as background noise (see the first
minute and a half of “Black Horns” for a great example). Of course, their
vocalist also delivers the necessary brutality to fit in with the rest of the
music. His voice is a low rumble that rarely delves into anything too adventurous,
but it gets the job done.
With “Severed Monolith”, Gorephilia have
created an excellent album that is incredibly faithful to death metal’s classic
records. Sure, we’ve all heard music like this 1,000 times before, but it doesn’t
make it any less effective. There’s really nothing to fault the band for, as
this record doesn’t overstay its welcome, and doesn’t bother with failed
experimentation. As a result, “Severed Monolith” is an early contender for
being one of the strongest death metal records of the year!
Highlight
"Crushed Under The Weight of God
Final Rating
4.25/5 or 85%.
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