My mate Michele Labratti (whom you might remember from the interview here) is back with a brand new Congenital Deformity material, released just before this dreaded year is finished. Good decision, you can remember 2020 for this album, not for shit it has carried for its whole duration.
Anyway, without much empty talking, here are 4 tracks of nice, meaty death/grind with some groovy elements, some doomish stuff…ok, let’s have a proper look. Or listen.
Opening with “Chainsaw Surgery”, this is basically the invitation to dance! Fast, when they want to go fast, for me it’s the slower parts of the song which I revel in. Add to it a solo which wouldn’t be lost in a Slayer song and toppled with groovy tupa-tupa intermezzo, here’s the song you would put on repeat. Seriously.
“Sacrifice” is both the song and the album title, and it’s the longest track here. Personally, I prefer the midtempo, where the heaviness is the heaviest, the song, however, doesn’t carry that nice touch of the opening “Chainsaw Surgery” track with it. It’s not bad, but not particularly extraordinary. Strangely enough, it’s best part is the last 50 seconds, slowing down with weeping doomish double guitars.
To make sure you’re not falling asleep, “Funeral Torments” is back on track with melodic, yet brutal shit you love. The transition between fast passages and slow is a weird one, and again, the heavy slow part near the 2:00 mark fucking kills, but as a whole the song delivers. Easy, when you know how to write brutally melodic (or melodically brutal?) riffs. Also, drum pattern in about 3:00 – 3:12 is lovely, again, I have to praise the solo, which is of high standard again.
One chosen to close is “Despising Life”, with, I’d guess, USDM inspired guitar riffs, and when the change occurs at approx. 1:31, wow…the not-so traditional drum pattern is a welcome change and again, after 2:14, when it’s back into more familiar melodic death metal vibe. No doubt, great finish of this little release. Have I mentioned the solo? 🙂
Summed up, great stuff, Congenital Deformity! And if you long for a physical release, look no further than at Unholy Domain Records (tape release should be out in 2021), or, for the CD edition, Morbid Chapel Records / Rotten Tomb Records. Same year. Same stuff. Same quality.
Bandcamp: https://congenitaldeformity.bandcamp.com/album/sacrifice