Skelethal’s back on business.
Two years after their split with Canadian outfit Outre-Tombe, the Lille-based band led by Gui Haunting (vocals/guitar), Lucas Scellier (guitar) and Julien Bouly (bass) unveil Within Corrosive Continuums, their third studio album, on Hells Headbangers Records.
The band called on Ilmar Marti Uibo (ex-Necrowretch, ex-Bloody Sign, ex-Chaos Echœs…) to record the drums.
Creation? slowly opens the doors to a putrid Old School but relatively catchy Death Metal that suddenly accelerates when Spectrum of Morbidity begins, activating its virulent roots to welcome the cavernous vocal parts. A few sharper lead parts mingle with the sticky mixture to bring a screaming, heady touch to the slower moments, then the flies fly before Mesmerizing Flies at the Doors of Death offers its first oozing oppressive riffs, which eventually accelerate. They become just as thick and savage as their predecessors, taking advantage of the blast to establish their violence before returning to putrefaction, leading us to the disturbing Eyes Sewn Mouth Full, where dissonance gradually settles in to finally unleash catchy Grind influences. The track slows down to preserve its original anguish between two waves of fury, then it’s with heaviness that Upon the Immemorial Ziggurat will play, while skilfully blending it with a few more vigorous touches to guarantee an energetic atmosphere. Dark leads give way to an intriguing clean break, but it doesn’t take long for saturation to take over again, as the band continues to trample us without restraint, just as on Fatal Abstraction, which begins with a rather tenebrous approach before finally releasing all its power. The bass/drums duo are particularly effective, giving the guitars plenty of freedom to develop bloody tones, but the album is already coming to an end with Within Corrosive Continuums, the eponymous composition, which gives the four musicians over twelve minutes to weave a sound that is first hazy, then violent as usual, with those little touches of controlled complexity before a mysterious break that brings us back to violence to close the instrumental.
Skelethal‘s roots remain in quintessential Old School Death, with a touch of originality for the final composition. If you’re looking to break your neck, Within Corrosive Continuums is the album you need.
85/100