Marrowomb is finally ready.
After five years in the making, multi-instrumentalist Frank Lato (guitar/bass/vocals/keyboards), aided by drummer Kevin Paradis (Construct of Lethe, ex-Benighted, ex-Svart Crown…), announces the release of his debut album, Phisenomie.
Phantasia Kataleptike opens with an excerpt from a horror film, but Black/Death isn’t far away, and it strikes whenever it gets the chance in the company of visceral, totally unleashed howls. The keyboards add another layer to the palpable anguish of the rhythm, as does the vocal diversity, which shifts from cavernous growl to piercing scream before Sickness Unto Life takes over to crush us in turn. The track is also very aggressive, allowing only a few misty harmonics to nuance the furious explosions that rage here, while Vicarious Visage is at times more grandiose when the orchestrations come into play. While violence and darkness are obviously the main components of this composition, it also features a short, mysterious clean-sound break and ominous sampled vocals, before giving way to Inner Ring and its thick misty veil over airy riffs, making the mix more than oppressive and quite different from the other tracks. We return to the more direct approach with Black Gossamer, a jerky track that welcomes Curtis Vamarassi (Körperlose Stimme) for a tortured solo that perfectly matches the track’s savagery, then continue on Veil of Cold where a touch of groove is added to this powerful rhythm. Harmonics bloom here and there, adding a little relief to the catchy sound, before being joined by Greg Livas (Endmember) for the solo of The Mirror and its initially irregular patterns, alternating with eerie, almost ethereal moments. Despairloom, the last track on the album, is by far the longest at eleven minutes, featuring slowness, coldness and dissonance, before the musician decides to charge again, reserving a solo for Shane Hill that confirms the duality that prevails right to the end.
Although this is only its first album, Marrowomb already possesses a marked maturity and identity, making Phisenomie highly enjoyable from start to finish. The album won’t hesitate to reveal its little secrets after several sessions.
85/100