Review Summary: Pissgrave show they’re one of the best modern death metal bands in 2019 with their relentless energy, filthy vocals and pummeling drums
I’m a huge fan of old school death metal from the late 80s and early 90s, with Death, Dismember, Bolt Thrower and Suffocation being some of my all-time favourite bands. I’m also a lover of modern death metal, particularly those on the tech death side of the aisle: Obscura, Beyond Creation
et al. came out with some of my favourite albums in 2018, and to me the technical bands are more exciting in the modern age than those trying to replicate the more “classic”, old school death metal style of the bands mentioned first.
Pissgrave has turned my current preference for technical death metal on its head. The band’s 2015 debut album
Suicide Euphoria came out of nowhere and was one of that year’s most brutal metal releases (and also had one of the most memorably disgusting album covers). I was relatively new to extreme metal at the time, but even then I appreciated how nasty, filthy and breathtaking their sound was. Pissgrave’s follow up Posthumous Humiliation improves on their debut, taking the filth to new levels of extremity and relentlessness. It’s taken 4 years, and it shows that the band has given their all in this record. There is not a single dud track, and every member of the band shines on this record.
The drums are pummeling, with the bass drums sounding especially impressive. The guitar tone is clear yet somehow still dirty. The vocals are unintelligible, but in the best way possible. It’s hard to find a unique voice in metal, yet the vocalist sounds like no-one else out there. The riffs are all impressive, and the tempo throughout is uncompromisingly fast, though not to the extent where it sounds cartoonish as some grind and death metal bands end up sounding. Then there’s the title track's cover art, which I could describe as a “mutilated face” but would not be doing the image justice.
My highlights are the two opening tracks,
Euthenasia and
Canticle of Ripping Flesh, as well as
Catacombs of Putrid Chambers and the title track. To me these best display the violently gorgeous riffs, breakdowns and solos that are present throughout the album but are taken to their most satisfying heights on these tracks. As mentioned, though, there is not a filler track on here, and this album will definitely be in my top 3 metal releases of 2019. If I were to nitpick, my only negative would be that the bass does not shine as much as the other instruments, which is one of my favourite features of tech death bands like Obscura and Beyond Creation. It’s hard to care though when every other aspect of the album is so good, and old school death metal was never really known for its amazing bass performances in the first place. Give this album a listen. It’s more violent than
Suicide Euphoria and more consistent than many other albums in this genre.
