ALBUM REVIEW: Insufferable Violence – Korpse

Savage. Uncompromising. A quartet who ply their sonic trade in unbridled death metal destruction. Ladies and gentleman – you’re cordially invited to take a jaw-clenching leap into the blackened world of KORPSE. And surrender to the aural battering ram that is Insufferable Violence.

Founded by drummer Marten van Kruijssen in 2013 together with vocalist Sven van Dijk, guitarist Floor van Kuijk and bassist Robin van Rijswijk, the Dutch destroyers made their gloriously depraved presence known to the hordes via their self-titled debut and 2016’s Unethical, subsequently becoming renowned for the kind of live shows that would tear your throat wide open and shit straight down it.

“So what lurks beneath this third full-length?” we hear you ask. The answer, is an unequivocal bowel cleanser that is packed to the sonic hilt; it’s strictly no nonsense content making it the epitome of chaotic punishment. Clocking in at just thirty-eight minutes, the four-piece succeed in unleashing ten tracks more akin to sheer torment as old school death metal clashes mercilessly with slam-inflected breakdowns, inhuman gutturals and racing blasts of goregrind. Make no mistake, an easy ride this is not. It’s an uncomfortable listen. But according to the band themselves, this was always the mindset going into the record – its modus operandi being the creation of the most brutal and extreme music possible. But this is far from mindless, skull-rattling noise because, as there are in fact, several stories beneath the filth.

Truth be told, there’s an unexpected depth at work here which ultimately negates any “mindless noise” accusations being thrown about by detractors. Instrumental opener PTSD, complete with that ominous spoken word sampling, is a heaving taste of what lies ahead. Replete with dank beatdowns and sufficient heft to make one’s cranium feel like it’s swelling with every downtuned guitar drop, it manages to delivers blow after blow, with an annihilating slowness.

And there’s virtually no time to catch your tortured breath as the title track (and lead single) arrives to crash the proverbial slam party. Super-fast and technically astute with more arse-shaking breakdowns than you could shake a stick at, it’s raison d’etre being that it’s fully representative of the album itself. The core elements that fans have come to know and relish are present and correct, but that’s not to say that the four-piece have shied away from trying new things – incorporating many of death metal’s neighbouring genres to spice up the mix.

When it comes to the album’s subject matter and lyrical content, these are related to either human violence or the inflicting of that suffering on to other humans. Tracks like Self-Preservation (centred around a woman who loses her eyesight due to an acid attack at her husband’s vengeful hands) and Final Lesson illustrate that some of humanity’s biggest atrocities are found in day-to-day life; with the latter detailing a bullied teacher who took his own life by leaping from the school roof as the kids watched. You can virtually taste the desperation of the character in question, via a ceaseless torrent of guttural blasts.

An indisputable contender for the “nastiest album of 2021” crown, Insufferable Violence, sees KORPSE speeding towards their creative peak. This album takes zero prisoners – and it’ll probably tear your soul apart in the process. A face mauling masterpiece.

Rating: 9/10

Insufferable Violence is set for release on February 26th via Unique Leader Records. 

Like KORPSE on Facebook.