Depravity rises again.
After five years under the radar, the band led by Jamie Kay (vocals), Ainsley Watkins (bass), Louis Rando (drums, Bloodlust, Impiety, The Furor), Lynton Cessford (guitar, Iniquitous Monolith) and Jarrod Curley (guitar) continues its journey with Transcending Obscurity Records for the release of its third album, Bestial Possession.
The band allows us only a few seconds of disturbing dissonance before Engulfed in Agony hits us at full throttle, combining blast beats, furious riffs, and beastly vocals at a sustained pace. Newcomers will be blown away by the onslaught, while regulars will savor the fury that barely slows down to let the harmonics suffocate us, even offering a catchy mosh part before throwing us into Eunuch Maker, which picks up the pace and hits us continuously with a touch that is as brutal as it is rooted in devastating Old School patterns. Everything in this track calls for violence, except perhaps the slightly melancholic solo that fits in with the introduction to Call to the Fallen, quickly erased by a new salvo of solid and constant aggression that still leaves time for the lead guitar to launch itself before supporting it. The vocals also become more ethereal, then we move on to Awful Mangulation, which in turn accelerates and once again draws on the most devastating roots to forge its jerky riffs, notably the massive break, but we quickly move on to Rot in the Pit, which takes much the same elements and adds a disturbing touch in the background. The rhythmic base regularly pounds us, allowing for a few flourishes on the lead guitar, then the occult and virulent touches of Aligned With Satan take over, amplifying both the heaviness and the raw power. While a few moments might suggest mercy, the band attacks even more savagely just seconds later, always pushing harder before letting Blinding Oblivion take over with an ever more frenzied rhythm. The harmonics are also more piercing, but the purely brutal death patterns are simply delectable, allowing for transitions that are as virulent as they are fluid, leading into the explosive Legacy, which follows suit and rolls over us without compromise. A strangely unifying passage will make for some good headbanging sessions at live shows, but the track also flies by in a flash, allowing Catastrophic Contagion to deliver the final blows in the purest tradition of violence with a memorable salvo.
I really liked Depravity‘s previous album, but on first listen, this one seems to surpass it! Bestial Possession doesn’t just mindlessly string together all the clichés of brutal death metal, it galvanizes them to give its riffs a memorable coherence!
90/100