Bodyfarm took their weapons back.
Formed in the Netherlands in 2009, the band led by Bram Hilhorst (guitar, ex-Cavitation) has undergone some changes. In 2020, Alex Seegers (ex-Pleurisy) dropped bass for guitar, Ralph de Boer (vocals/bass, Dead Head, Radiathor) joined the band, followed by David Schermann (drums, Weltschmerz, Wrang, ex-Wesenwille) before the announcement of Ultimate Abomination, their fifth album, which will be released in 2023 by Edged Circle Productions.
Torment, the first track, immediately shows its color with an energetic and vindictive Old School Death Metal, whether on vocals, on the heavy rhythmic or on the sharp solo. The track remains continuously raw and aggressive, letting some explosions lacerate us before Symbolical Warfare places dissonant melodies on this crushing basis made of killer patterns. The ominous leads easily mix with the jerky and straightforward rhythmic which continues with a dark touch on The Wicked Red, a track with melodic influences. It feels slightly more accessible and groovy while keeping its aggressiveness and abrasive sounds, but pure rage will resurface on Blasting Tyranny and its lively basis led by a motivating drumming. The track will still offer some intense and heady passages before The Swamp, the longest track, places a dark and disturbing intro on which haunting riffs come to life. But slower airy tones don’t mean the sound won’t be heavy and catchy before Carving Repentance sets the tempo on fire again. Double kick and blast follow one another in a consistent manner to serve as the basis for those dark riffs, but also for the frantic hypnotic leads, followed by Empire of Inquity which slows down again before letting martial patterns strike, topped by powerful vocal parts. The blast will reign on the track’s last part, which leaves us with Soul Damnation and its obvious rage which instantly energizes the atmosphere by coupling vindictive riffs, hateful screams and massive drums. The song is a perfect first track for a set placed under the sign of strength which still includes a calmer part, followed by a resumption of violence and by Sacrilege of the Fallen, which comes again to temporize the atmosphere while making it heavier. There will only be a short time to wait for this brutal acceleration, before Charlatan Messiah closes the album with an as raw as straightforward strength, in every way.
If you’re talking about Death Metal in 2023, you must be talking about Bodyfarm. With Ultimate Abomination, the band knows how to go fast and relentlessly hit us, but also how to place slower or more melodic elements without losing their strength and rage.
95/100