Enragement is turning twenty soon.
To mark the occasion, Atte Ojanne (guitar/vocals), Tuomas Iivanainen (guitar/vocals), Juhana Korkka Heinonen (bass/vocals), and Lasse Sannikka (drums) have signed with Transcending Obscurity Records and announced the release of their fourth album, Extinguish All Existence.
After a few seconds of suspense, Vorarephilia kicks off at full speed and hits us with massive riffs topped by powerful vocals, allowing the musicians to draw on both Brutal Death Metal and apparent complexity. The screams follow one another, exploring the entire violent spectrum before a groovy finale that leads to Abyssal Hellscapes, where dissonant touches are highlighted, completing the quartet’s uncompromising approach. One quickly feels oppressed by the thick and suffocating rhythm, but Pathogenesis transforms the atmosphere with a rage much more focused on pure energy, double kick drumming and piercing leads, but also with particular attention paid to the catchy rhythm. This jerky progression is found on Parasitic Ingress, along with a devastating gravity blast, but also many changes that allow the band to naturally alternate their methods of aggression, such as the explosive mosh part and the sub-bass. The rhythm accelerates with Harbingers of Degradation, but the track remains rooted in its old-school influences, taking advantage of a moment of palm mutes to make us bang our heads before crushing us again until Vesuvius grants us a moment of respite. Although haunted by increasingly frightening sounds, it remains fairly calm before suddenly bursting into flames, transforming into a demonstration of precision, then a merciless steamroller that doesn’t hold back on the blows, leading us to Hypercarnivorous. The track in turn plays on a mastery of haunting and sharp harmonics to complement a furious rhythm over which the vocalists unleash themselves, returning to more groovy riffs before letting Insectiferous Abomination pour out its own stream of high-flying savagery at a frantic tempo that will undoubtedly satisfy technical fans. We find a catchy tone from the very first moments of Natural Mass Asphyxiation, taking advantage of a few bursts of energy to offer massive parts in addition to Slam Death influences, but the album already comes to an end with Extinguish All Existence and its virulent charge, which sometimes deviates from pure Death Metal to offer a more trippy, almost occult atmosphere, while the musicians let loose one last time until the calmer final.
With influences each more violent than the last, Enragement has created a true monster of raw power! Extinguish All Existence showcases great technical skill, but also highly varied passages that converge toward a single goal: to destroy everything in its path.
95/100