Excretion Of Mortality (studio album) by Cerebral Rot

From Mercury 07/20/2021 20:30

(This is the musical equivalent of being lost in a gore and rot filled sewer, desperately searching for a way out before that ... thing... that is making all that sound and vibrating the whole place sniffs you out and then snuffs you out painfully. In other words, just a heavy as fuck Death Metal chugger with some truly awe-inspiring Death Doom riffs. I love this shit.)

This is one of those albums where I got the little parenthetical snippet written first and this is one of those albums where the snippet at the top basically covers my thoughts and I feel unable to add much afterwards. But I will try.

This is the second album by Death Metal/Death Doom Metal Seattle-ites Cerebral Rot. The main selling point is, quite simply and almost stupidly, the HEAVINESS of the bass and the guitars. These riffs chug, and when I say chug, I mean they dislodge wax build ups in your ears. The interplay of the guitarist and bassist (yes just one guitarist... I correct my earlier statement despite being able to just erase it lol... I'm padding this mofo!) is insane. Its insane because the riffs and arrangements are pretty damn simple and yet these 2 extract every ounce of atmosphere and bone-rattling sound and feeling they can out of what they have. Listening to this album is an experience, where the musicians make it their mission to shoulder out of your mind and headspace ANYTHING that isn't the dripping and oozing aura of the music they are making.

The drummer and vocalist do their parts as well quite admirably. The drumming is thudding and shambling and seemingly sloppy. But sloppy in the best and most interesting of ways. He is less the time keeper of the sound the sound and more the unstable enforcer and muscle of the band. The drums exist in a constant state of aggressive near-madness, staring wild-eyed around the dank surroundings in search of the next barrier to pummel into oblivion.

As for the vocals, they are a husky, deeeeep, death metal thing. The vocals paint the corners of this nightmare, and help give it its form and message. Pretty consistently solid if not excellent.

Overall, if you love Doomy, Deep (in terms of theme, maybe not like philosophically), mean-spirited Death Metal of the truly heavy and stripped down variety, you'll dig this album and I think you should check it out.