EP REVIEW: Desiphon – Choke
Desiphon‘s central argument is simple enough. The latest EP from Green Bay death metallers CHOKE contends that we as humans have had a catastrophic effect on our planet through our relentless siphoning of its resources, and that the only means to fix it is to ‘de-siphon’, i.e. to “eradicate that which took part in creating the chaos and return them to earth via burial.” So far, so death metal, but there’s no denying the five tracks on offer here help the band make a compelling case indeed.
As soon as you hit play on the opening title track it is abundantly clear that there’s a lot of grind in the mix here. Desiphon – both the song and the record – is a thoroughly blasting affair, with drummer Chris Piette setting a relentless pace beneath HM-2-swamped guitars, lung-busting vocals, and, at least in the opener’s case, a squealing solo the likes of Kerry King or Bill Steer would be more than happy with. It’s the kind of package that seems to arrive at our door every other week nowadays, but one we’ll continue to receive with open arms as long as bands like CHOKE keep sending them our way.
For its first four tracks in particular, Desiphon absolutely tears by. Only one of these – third track Deranged – even tops the two-minute mark, and even then only by an extra 30 seconds or so. Sensibly though, each comes with at least one massive riff or groove that helps the band sink their hooks a little deeper into their listeners than they would if they relied on thrashing and blasting alone. Second track Lobotomy kicks into a killer two-step for example, while Lust For Death majors on a thick and weighty groove that should bang heads wherever it finds them.
Arriving in no time at the record’s closing track Wraith, this one’s near six-minute runtime accounts for nearly half of the EP all told. Despite the opportunity that might’ve been afforded to it by such space, it doesn’t really offer much of a departure from that which precedes it. It’s a little bleaker and more atmospheric, and predictably more than willing to stick to a riff or groove for longer than the band are able to elsewhere, but ultimately it ensures we depart this release exactly as we came into it, with CHOKE’s hands firmly around our throats.
Held together by the ever steady hands of mixing/mastering duo Kurt Ballou and Brad Boatright, it’s hard to find anything negative to say about Desiphon. It runs no risk of outstaying its welcome, with the band instead hitting listeners hard and fast as they hammer their miserable message home. Perhaps we could hope for something a little longer soon, and with it a little more dynamic variation, but for the time being this is an EP that hits all of its targets with ease.
Rating: 8/10
Desiphon is set for release on September 16th via Translation Loss Records.
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