EP REVIEW: Grotesque Deformities – Crematory Stench
Hailing from the sunny climes to Costa Mesa, California, CREMATORY STENCH began life back in 2014, spending the next couple of years writing and honing a sound that would eventually lead to their debut, self titled release. It was a vile slab of old-school death metal in the vein of the likes of POSSESSED and AUTOPSY. Following up this amazing debut release was never going to be easy, but the band ultimately managed to pull it off with their new EP. Grotesque Deformities is the result of another couple of years worth of writing and graft, and with it’s raw sound and punishing musicianship it’s far darker and decidedly more aggressive than its predecessor.
CREMATORY STENCH open Grotesque Deformities with Interlude; a brief, yet effective, means of setting the tone for the rest of the EP with dense, eerie ambient music creating a foreboding and grim sound. It may only be brief, and comprise of a few, minor musical elements, but it certainly sets the listener up for the rest of Grotesque Deformities. Next up, Septic Offals is a feral piece of music with a primitive sound that sounds excellent from the very first note. With steady, hypnotic drumming, bleak guitar hooks and tar-thick vocals that are more than a little evocative of Jeff Becerra of POSSESSED in their delivery, this is a song that is planted well within the old-school death metal sound. The production, likewise, has a dirty, raw quality to it that only serves to make the music sound all the more macabre and ferocious, giving the whole song a dark, sepulchral feel that it’s hard not to love.
Grotesque Deformities‘ titual offering is a short shock of razor sharp guitar lines, chaotic drums and bestial vocals, which combined provide a veritable aural assault. The unflinching ferocity on this song is unmatched anywhere else on the EP, and it manages to make the most of its fleeting run-time, throwing as much visceral energy at the performance as possible to craft one of the stand out tracks on here. There’s also a descending, wailing guitar solo that displays a cacophonous virtuosity that adds a frenzied and urgent edge to the already rabid and caustic piece of music. It may only be two and a half minutes long, but it manages to stick long in the memory, and leaves and indelible impression on the record as a whole.
Penultimate track Hypothermic Expiry is a gnarly, groove-driven song with plenty of sludgy guitar and bass lines that give it a robust sound, with the vocals adding a discordant contrast. Another short song, CREMATORY STENCH are able to make the most of the briefness, throwing another another jarring, dissonant guitar solo into the mix and giving Hypothermic Expiry a monstrous, huge sound. The end of Hypothermic Expiry bleeds seamlessly into the closing song perfectly; Slumber moves at a snails pace in comparison to the previous two offerings, with the initial motif being a funereal crawl which suddenly bursts into a far more furious section, with fierce and crunching guitar hooks and tight, thunderous drumming, all complimented by the venomous tone of the vocals. Slumber ebbs and flows between the faster and more reserved passages, which injects plenty of variety into the music, and keeps everything interesting until the very end, without it feeling as though the band have thrown anything into the fray just for the sake of it. It’s an eclectic, catchy piece of music that brings this record to a close on a very high note.
Grotesque Disformities is a great EP that showcases a band that are well versed in an old school sound and style, and more than capable of crafting something interesting, impressive music. It’s short, but makes the most of it’s limited length, making sure that there’s plenty of diverse and catchy music on full display that will peak the interest of anyone with even a cursory appreciation for old school death metal. The sound is far leaner and more focused than it was on the last EP, and if CREMATORY STENCH refine their sound even further, trimming what fat there is left, then whatever they have coming next will likely prove to be their magnum opus.
Rating: 8/10
Grotesque Deformities is out now via FDA Records.
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