ALBUM REVIEW: Theothanatology – Acephalix

ACEPHALIX would hardly be the first death metal band to posit that God is dead. Some have made it their whole schtick for decades now, but that hasn’t stopped the San Franciscans from crafting an eight-track, 31-minute study on the concept for their fourth full-length album Theothanatology. Coming five years after their previous effort Decreation, and bearing once again the quality guarantee provided by 20 Buck Spin, it finds the band dealing in a brand of death metal that feels just as tried and tested as its theme, albeit not without plenty of merit in its execution.

As straight as ACEPHALIX may play things on Theothanatology, they don’t leave much room for complaint here. This is death metal in its truest form, seemingly uninterested in pushing the boat anywhere new or weird and instead laser-focused on nailing a style that has required little refinement since the late 80s and early 90s. That may have some listeners opting out before we’ve even begun, but if you have found yourself enjoying the OSDM revival of late then here is another record to play alongside the likes of CELESTIAL SANCTUARY, MAUL and UNDEATH to name a few of the strongest recent examples.

Of course, such a tight focus brings with it a challenge in picking out any individual track over any other, or indeed in saying anything about this record that you probably haven’t worked out already. ACEPHALIX seem just as comfortable in each of death metal’s primary gears, whether that’s razoring by at more thrash and D-beat-influenced tempos, or hitting listeners with the filthy grooves which find particular prominence in tracks like Postmortem Punishment and Innards Of Divinity. The guitars are thick and swampy, and vocalist Daniel Butler’s cavernous gutturals add the required if expected force to proceedings – everything does exactly what it should, when and where it should

You could call all this playing it safe, but just as Theothanatology may struggle to surprise, so too does it avoid any real disappointments. Third track Abyssal is a solid death ‘n’ roll-tinged rager, Defecated Spirit a proudly Neanderthal bludgeoning, and closer Atheonomist makes use of a slightly longer runtime to allow for a break of distant screaming and speech samples before ending the record on a final minute or so of thrashy violence. We could probably do without some of the gothy spoken vocals which appear on a large number of the tracks here, but none of these really dominate or detract from the overall purpose of the record.

If any of this reads as particularly harsh on ACEPHALIX, that really isn’t the intention. Theothanatology is a rock solid death metal record that leaves little room for gripes even if it completely refuses to look at the wheel many others have chosen to reinvent. This album essentially does one thing, but it does it well and it doesn’t do it for too long. If you’re looking for something more experimental then move along, but if you just want your fill of meat and potatoes then this should stack your plate pretty nicely.

Rating: 7/10

Theothanatology is set for release on September 30th via 20 Buck Spin.

Follow ACEPHALIX on Instagram.