ALBUM REVIEW: Ageless Violence – Glorious Depravity
Brooklyn’s GLORIOUS DEPRAVITY are a band that have established themselves very quickly, and with very little music, as an incredibly promising death metal act. Their debut demo, Hospital Incinerator Blues, consisted of a single song, but left enough of an impression for the band to get signed, and set down some strong foundations for the band and their sound. However, with just one recorded song to their name to start with, the band had a lot to prove with their first record; thankfully, they have proven more than capable of meeting, and even exceeding, expectations. Their second release, and first full length album, Ageless Violence, showcases the band’s talents in full, and serves as perhaps one of the more impressive outings from a new band in a while.
Ocean of Scabs starts things off with a chunky slab of thrash inflected death metal with monstrous gutturals, frenzied guitar hooks and thunderous drumming creating a powerful and intense statement. It’s a great piece of music with some demented flourishes that draws the listener in immediately. (In the Clutches of) the Oligarchic Exsanguinator, with its dramatic opening moments, which lend a distinct, almost B-Movie quality to the track, is a juggernaut of groove-laden rhythms with dizzying, intricate leads that add a chaotic tinge to the music, with dense vocals complementing the robust guitars and bass extremely well, making for a punishing sound.
Incel Christ is a short, sharp shock of tight, energetic music, with some fierce moments from the guitar and drums, coupled with excellent, thick vocals that make this song sound utterly visceral and memorable. The Stone Hammer Swings proves to be a slower offering, with focused musicianship on all fronts, with reserved guitars allowing the vocals, drums and bass to add plenty of their own flavour, resulting in one of the more immersive and eclectic offerings so far.
Digital Reaper goes for the jugular, and sees all of the elements that were restrained on the previous track come back with a vengeance, with the razor sharp guitars being incredibly imaginative and adding to this songs appeal. It’s unflinchingly ferocious, and serves as one of the more aggressive numbers on the record. Hospital Incinerator Blues, originally from the band’s demo, does a great job of capturing the savage energy of the original, with its whirlwind of feral guitars, powerful percussion and bellicose gutturals, with the only variations being a polished production and a great, atmospheric intro that has a similar feel to that of the second track. These changes are relatively small, but work well and improve what was already a great slab of death metal.
Forced to Witness, another weighty, mid-paced affair, is a slow burning, but effective, track that manages to tow the line between huge, heavy rhythmic sections and grating discordance courtesy of the jarring leads and tempo changes, which give this an unpredictability that some of the earlier tracks lacked. The vocal range is also much wider, bringing in caustic howls that work perfectly alongside the frenzied nature of this song. It’s a fantastic closing track, and is easily one of the better offerings on the record.
As you might expect from a band that takes their name from the title of a RIPPING CORPSE demo, this band’s sound has one foot very firmly planted within old school death metal, with a healthy dose of classic thrash thrown in for good measure. As stated at the start of this review, the band had very little in the way of recorded music prior to this album, and jumping straight into a full-length album, as opposed to an EP, would have been daunting to most new bands.
Luckily, GLORIOUS DEPRAVITY have not only risen to the occasion, but also created a powerful and memorable record that should appeal to old and new fans of death metal alike, with excellent musicianship on all fronts helping to establish the talents of all five of the bands members. The band has set themselves a high benchmark to measure their future music against, and if the huge leap forward between their demo and this album is anything to go by, they are more than capable of surpassing it with whatever they have planned next.
Rating: 8/10
Ageless Violence is out now via Translation Loss Records.
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