Festergore release their debut album!
After an EP and a split, Andrew O (guitar), Steve Pro (drums), Tom Mahoney (guitar), Ryan Lee (vocals) and Tom Nelson (bass) signed to Personal Records to unveil Constellation of Endless Blight.
The opening track Ironborn features the unhealthy, extremely aggressive sound of dark Death Metal, with massive vocal parts that blend seamlessly into the livelier moments. We recognize the devastating American Old School touch, but also sharper influences such as on the slow passages leading up to Glass Casket, where Anthony Bramante (Phantom, ex-Nuclear Assault) lends a hand, adding a fix of madness to the lead parts and creating a contrast with the thick rhythmics. SMA follows with the same rage, offering another dose of violent riffs at a fairly constant pace, ensuring an effective hit followed by the ominous The View From Halfway Down, which could perfectly serve as the soundtrack to the carnage of a horror movie, whether on the energetic opening section or the slower moment. Synchronizing the Kozmos part I revives this suffocating, angst-ridden atmosphere while allowing us a temporary halt to the aggression, but Surrender to Madness soon returns to it with all the usual elements, be it the unstoppable blast, the screaming riffs or the powerful vociferations. The final barely lets us catch our breath, but Cryogenic Decay soon crushes us in turn with an equally brutal approach, where the leads have a field day before joining Synchronizing the Kozmos part II, a new tortured but relatively melodic interlude. The band aren’t done with us yet, striking with What Once Was Proud, which quickly reminds me of a 2000s’ Bolt Thrower with its martial approach (and title, let’s be honest), but with further eruptions of fury before it ends.
If you feared for the survival of Old School Death Metal, Festergore is here to reassure you. Constellation of Endless Blight smells of the ’90s, smoking corpses and big thick riffs!
85/100