These foul and noxious Italians formed with the principal intent to spread the horrid feelings connected to Death. It may have taken them a decade to hone their craft and release this their debut album following numerous demos, EP’s and splits with the likes of Goatreich 666 and Necrovomit but one listen to Woes Of Mortal Devotion makes it quite clear that they have pretty much achieved their goal. This is horrendous, barraging, stygian, chasm dropping occult death and black worship which never lets up for a second hurling the listener over the precipice into a decayed, dead void. It’s a pretty harrowing listen sprawling out over 8 tracks and 40 minutes of music that leaves you more than a little unsettled and spent as it relentlessly hammers away and gnaws at you like a dog determined to take every shred of flesh off a bone and chew what’s left into dust.
Opener ‘Grievous Subsidence’ eerily sets up atmosphere and thick bass work and drums slowly ebbing in before exploding into a bestial furnace of diabolical sound with everything layering up and jarring away. Luckily the production is spot on and the extremity is clear with everything getting through in the mix. Guitars shred and it’s a fast and fiery baptism but one not without a coruscating sense of melody lurking beneath it all. Low but perfectly placed are some growled out vocals from the simply titled G. occasionally they roar higher and hit the cave roof and the musicianship loosens in their wake with a massive brooding spring like bounce before tearing off like the clappers with a svart punk laden flailing mindset.
There are occasional touches of doom found slowing things down but they are few and far between. A couple of the tracks start off with a bit of a calmer atmosphere with sounds such as footsteps or a female voice but it is just mere seconds before things rear up and ferociously bite in again, tearing off, fists flailing to batter you senseless. At least the album does not toy with the listener and you will know straight away if it is going to be for you, there is little mucking about or a sense of any experimentation amidst things just primitive brutalising death worship. This might lead some to find it a little on the one dimensional side but I found it worked admirably for me as it is so dark, windswept and utterly destructive you cannot help but find yourself lost in the repetitive mass of annihilating riff work and pummelling drums. Total holocaust achieved!
(7.5/10 Pete Woods)
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