A five track EP for you this time, courtesy of a two-man terror team of British reprobates. Anil Carrier, known probably best for his time as the live drum kit destroyer in Anaal Nathrakh, and Dan Benton on Vocals. It appears that Anil has done all of the instrumentation on this record, though one would guess not at the same time (and if he did, I want to watch that video), with Dan providing the words of destruction.

So what do Pernicion conjure up? Some pretty nasty, brutal sounds with more than a dash of the old school of death metal. While there isn’t much in the way of anything you would call “subtle” to be found here, there is plenty of full on, in your face slabs of ugly guitars. These aren’t short songs either – “Mantorok” weighs in at over six minutes at length, while none of the other four tracks are under five minutes. For the most part, we’re treated to some uncompromising, deep and guttural death metal, with some phenomenal drumming and vocals that veer on the completely indecipherable. There are also some hints at doom on the less frantic sections, though it’s the weird, atonal buzzing guitar work that pops up here and there that adds something new to the mix. Not only does it cut through the murkier sections of all that downtuned blasting, but it also brings to mind some of the unpleasant moments of blackened death metal that could be found in the older works of fellow British grimsters Akercocke.

“Seek what they sought” is single minded in their approach. It’s a piece of work that goes for the throat, and does it in a completely unapologetic way. There are no fripperies, no apologies and virtually nothing that is going to distract the listener from the absolute sonic pummelling that’s bursting from the speakers. You know what? I’m ok with that. At just five tracks long, and with a great modern production that doesn’t lose the grit in providing the punch, this is an EP that brings the pain with the minimum of fuss but the maximum impact.
Short, nasty and brutish.
Nice.

(7.5/10 Chris Davison)

https://www.facebook.com/pernicionuk

https://osmoseproductions.bandcamp.com/album/seek-what-they-sought