ALBUM REVIEW: The Everlasting Plague – Pathology

Coming out of the US’ vibrant brutal death metal scene all the way back in 2006, California’s PATHOLOGY have gone on to be one of the more prolific and prominent acts to emerge from the States since the turn of the century. Over the last decade and a half, and with an astounding ten studio albums behind them, the band have firmly established themselves as one of the premier acts within the more aggressive outer reaches of the US death metal scene, garnering widespread acclaim both at home and internationally. Their latest album, The Everlasting Plague, is a brilliant slab of ferocious and caustic extremity, and serves as yet another magnificent record from a band with an already fantastic back catalogue.

A Pound Of Flesh provides an incredibly strong, ominous start to the record that excellently blends the best elements of both technical and brutal death metal. The slick, intricate leads brilliantly counterpoint the rumbling gutturals and intense rhythms, adding lots of soaring, melodic flourishes to proceedings and setting a lofty bar for the rest of the album to follow. Perpetual Torment matches the aggression of its predecessor, with the drums and bass creating a huge, weighty backdrop for the tight guitar work and monstrous vocals as the band pepper this far more ferocious affair with some subtle slam sections for a deep and punishing sound throughout.

Engaging In Homicide is built around faster tempos and a groove-laden approach to hooks that works extremely well, resulting in a muscular and focused style with a generous dose of melodicism in amongst the thicker, more visceral core of the song. Procession Of Mangled Humans leans more heavily into the technical aspects of the band’s sound, with the guitars and bass taking on an adventurous and virtuosic bent that makes this a dizzying and eclectic offering in which the aural assault of the throaty vocals and precise drumming inject some of the more unerringly fierce parts into the music.

Viciously Defiled, a short but effective track, is unflinchingly feral, bringing back the dense slams whilst possessing a far more unpredictable, chaotic side that makes this particular song not only one of the more savage on the record, but also one of its more instantly memorable. Diseased Morality, a darkly rhythmic, powerful affair, sees the band adopt a more deliberate, mostly minimal style that is tinged with brooding melancholy. This sets it apart from the more venom-soaked numbers that came before it, adding a little emotive depth to the album as a whole and showcasing that the music can pack a punch even when it is more stripped down.

Submerged In Eviscerated Carnage is a far chunkier slab of brutal death metal that once again makes great use of solid grooves and low, animalistic gutturals, crafting a massive, meaty sound that is, in essence, pummelling death metal done very well. Corrosive Cranial Affliction takes a catchier, more melody-driven path, centred on the magnificent lead riffs that borrow more than a little bit from classic melodeath without sacrificing any of the more barbaric ingredients in the band’s core sound.

As The Entrails Wither utilises cleaner guitar tones to give the initial moments on here an eerie, bleak feel, which quickly gives way to a sprawling, grandiose sound, which in turn turns into a bestial, domineering piece of unrelenting death metal that sees the guitars veer from beefy hooks to more polished, melodic ones. These give track as a whole a diverse and imaginative side that makes it one of the record’s most engrossing offerings. Dirge For The Infected takes the formula laid down on its predecessor and develops it further, with similar but much more distorted tones lending the same sinister feel to it. Much like what came before it, this is a slow burning affair that shifts from opening atmospherics to fiercer fare without ever losing the darkness at its base.

Death Ritual Deciphered again relies on slower, more spartan leads and a measured pace to set the scene before launching into a frenzied and energetic burst of tight rhythms and discordance, all of which results in a song that proves to be a slightly jarring, but nonetheless immersive listen. Decomposition Of Millions closes the album with a powerful and effective instrumental piece that again sees the guitar tone play a big role in this song’s appeal. It lurches between sharp, reverb-drenched melodicism and tar thick hooks, allowing the guitars to direct style in absence of vocals. It’s a great conclusion to the album, one that utterly drips with beguiling ambience in a way that many of the earlier tracks only alluded to.

One of the reasons that PATHOLOGY are such an enduring band is that, in spite of being synonymous with the brutal death metal tag, they have their own distinct sound and incorporate a broader range of influences than not only many of their peers, but also many of the bands following in their footsteps. This album is a prime example of that; although their sound certainly has that fierce, brutal undercurrent to it, there are also liberal doses of melodeath, slam and classic death metal peppered throughout, something which helps keep this engrossing to listen to in a way that many full throttle, straight forward brutal death metal records most likely wouldn’t be able to.

Rating: 9/10

The Everlasting Plague is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.

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