Visceral Mass - Self-titled EP

Guts, intestines and innards.

(Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on September 21st 2020)  

California death metal duo Visceral Mass released their debut EP a few months ago on the Maggot Stomp label, and for better or worse depending on what your tastes are, it's exactly what you'd expect from that label. Downtuned and slightly muddy guitars primarily playing heavy mid-paced riffs with some gurgled vocals on top and a production value that makes the listener feel like they've been wading through a sewer primarily full of human remains in various stages of decay.

Opening track "Human Stew" sets the tone immediately for the next 14 minutes, starting off with a slow riff that is underpinned by the filthy bass that reinforces the disgusting atmosphere of this EP, and coupled with a massive breakdown around the 50 second mark along with some faster tremolo passages makes for one of the better tracks on the EP.

The other tracks follow suit utilising primarily the same style of riffing, without too many differences barring a few faster riffs that are used to break the monotony of constantly hearing heavy chugs and some breakdowns, with the best of the bunch being the third track "Verses of Perversion", which opens with a nice doomy riff and has a very interesting (by the standards of this EP anyway) section around the 3 minute mark.

The production on this release is quite good, considering how it's a debut from a virtually unknown band, with thick guitars, a dirty bass supporting the riffs and very punchy drums, with all of them being decently mixed and not really fighting to be heard.

Lyrically the album is typical death metal fare, bringing to mind primarily old Cannibal Corpse, with the band musing over death, zombies and sexual depravity involving a lot of viscera, nothing out of the ordinary for anyone who has listened to more than 1 album in this genre.

Now, there isn't anything inherently bad with this release, since it's a short but sweet serving of caveman death metal, but to anyone who isn't already familiar with this label's releases I feel obligated to make a point out of the fact that there are no solos or any complexity to speak of, so if you're someone who is expecting any sort of flashy or technical playing you'd do well to stay away from this release. Personally, I am for the most part a fan of this style, but its simplistic nature doesn't lend itself to multiple replays, and the fact that so many releases of this type of death metal have come out in the past few years has burnt me out on this style, which became more and more apparent the more I listened to this EP before writing this review. Also I would like to mention about how hilariously cheesy the vocal opening to "Flesh Eating Deceased" is with its use of zombie noises from Call of Duty, which coupled with the fact that said opening takes roughly half of the track's runtime makes for the weakest track of the EP.

All in all, it's yet another Maggot Stomp release, which will probably get lost among the sheer wealth of EPs and albums they've put out over the course of the past two years, but will definitely satisfy any fans of simple and heavy death metal.

Highlights: Human Stew, Verses of Perversion

Rating: 70%

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Batushka & Houle concert report, 28/09/2025

Image
Salted Wounds and Incense; or, a Black Metal escapade Besides getting to know a place like the back of your hand, I’m a firm believer that you’ve truly made yourself at home somewhere when you start participating in the area’s local artistic events, which, for a guy like me, tend to begin and end with attending concerts of artists passing through the area. It’s a great way of meeting people with similar interests as you, and as we all know, shared experiences foster connection between people, through reminiscing and simply “being in the moment”. It’s always been the little things that stuck with me at shows, and a city as small as Thessaloniki is proud to boast of a very tight-knit metal community, where everyone’s a regular at the same few places, and tends to show up in the same shows as you do. You get to see some people you’ve talked to in passing, and perhaps even share an awkward “Were you in [X] show? Wasn’t it cool?” moment. There’s a charm to such interactions that is hard t...
Read more

Sacred Serenity - Redefining Life

Image
Hit 'em with the brain destroyer. I haven’t gone digging in a while, but I generally take great pleasure in stumbling upon up-and-coming bands, preferably ones that could be defined as “hungry”. Musicians pour their hearts into their art, and then thrust it upon an unsuspecting public in hopes of being seen and appreciated by however small a group. It takes a lot of courage and drive to do that, and it’s such a quality that defines Sacred Serenity, and their debut, Redefining Life . This one-man progressive deathrash (!) project is helmed by the young (even younger at the time of this album’s release) Jonas Doehler, who somehow managed to put together something that one would expect from veterans of the style, all while juggling five more active bands at the time of writing. Talk about having a busy schedule. Clocking in at less than 25 minutes (without the instrumental version of the album), this is a release that operates on “shock and awe” tactics. Though there are moments of re...
Read more

Elder - Lore

Image
Albums I like a lot: Part II (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on August 21st 2021)  Stoner doom’s always been a hit or miss genre for me. On one hand, it has a vibe and energy that can scarcely be matched by other styles, on the other you can only hear so many bands rip off Sabbath riffs before you get bored. As a whole it’s a very single minded style that rarely goes beyond being heavy and “weed lmao”. And I say rarely because Elder exists. While their earliest work falls in that category (more specifically their self-titled), they’ve always had a unique flavour to them. Ever since Dead Roots Stirring they’ve added these subtle psychedelic and at times progressive touches that helped them stand out from the rest of the bands in the genre. Their third outing, Lore stands out for being the perfect marriage of psych and stoner doom, and has cemented itself as my favourite album in the genre, and by extension the band’s catalogue. From the very first few...
Read more