Devourment
Obscene Majesty

It's difficult to start writing a review about an album like this because it highly depends on personal tastes. For me, it could simply be defined as a "Slam Masterpiece," and there would be nothing else to say, but I'm not giving a definition; I'm writing a review, so I must provide arguments.

Let's start with the history of Devourment: they were formed in Dallas, Texas (as they often remind us during concerts) in 1995. After their first demo, "Impaled," they released the pinnacle of their career and probably of the entire genre: "Molested The Decapitated." If it weren't for this album, we might still be mocking the new lineup because "old is better 1i1i1i1i," but this album changes everything.

After "Molesting," we waited six years to get "Butcher The Weak," another very good album with a different lineup, but it doesn't reach the heights of the previous one.

The next album, "Unleash The Carnivore," has a less confused and more groovy sound, but as usual, it doesn't reach the epicness of the first album.

Six years after "Conceived In Sewage," a good Brutal Death album but lacking those filthy Slam elements that have always characterized them, was released.

A year after the release of this album, the lineup changed almost completely, and it feels like going back to the times of "Molesting": Ruben Rosas, a guitarist for about a decade, returns to vocals, certainly his preferred role. Mike Majewsky, the singer for nearly ten years, leaves along with Eric Park, a brilliant drummer, who is replaced by Brad Fincher, also a drummer on "Molesting."

The situation then becomes complicated, as the now ex-bassist Chris Andrews switches to guitar, and Dave Spencer is recruited on bass.

Now let's start talking about the music.

Here the situation becomes even more challenging, as there would be a multitude of adjectives for this album, but few would be positive. It starts with "A Virulent Strain Of Retaliation," which begins with a distorted digital noise, whose source I can't understand, introducing us to the actual song.

Initially, it's easy to jump out of your chair listening to this "thing" because it begins with a series of guitar riffs and a pachydermic blast beat, which will hardly continue the listening for those not accustomed to the genre. The vocals are simply monstrous; no other adjectives can be used, as they're so low that they make Frank Mullen of Suffocation sound like a Power Metal singer.

The drums no longer have that extremely dry, "kettle-like" sound they had in "Molesting" and are mixed as they should be. The guitar this time is an 8-string guitar (a very unusual fact since they don't play Djent or Deathcore) and thus produces really low and sometimes a bit muddy sounds (although this was already their trademark). The riffs this time are spectacular, and even though the production doesn't help in hearing the details (but we'll talk more about that later), in some breaks, there are truly interesting riffs, even melodically speaking.

The bass is a bit buried by the other instruments, but the breaks are often spiced up by interesting passages. Moreover, the tuning adopted by the guitars forces the bassist to keep a very low tuning (Drop E, one octave below standard tuning) and thus it's normal that it's not heard much.

After the first song, we move to "Cognitive Sedation Butchery," which will show us the direction for the rest of the album, continuing with "Narcissistic Paraphilia." A plethora of morbid Slams begin to arrive, but never excessively long, which will only please the most hardcore among you.

Other important songs are "Sculpted in Tyranny," where about halfway through the song, a truly interesting and heavy Slam will start, and the concluding "Truculent Antipathy," which provides a total demonstration of their value.

I don't think better can be done in an album of this genre, having very tight standards. I believe that repetitiveness is a must in many albums of this genre (in some parts, this album is no exception). It shows that Devourment has reached a higher artistic maturity than average (47-minute albums in Death Metal are extremely rare, let alone in Slam).

It's certainly not an album for everyone; already if someone doesn't appreciate heavier things than Death, they shouldn't even try listening to this album, as it would be like making a vegan eat a raw steak.

The production is truly rich, and for me, it enhances the heaviness of the sound in general. The guitars, perhaps, are too rich because in some parts, in addition to the bass, they also hide the vocals.

For me, it's an album to listen to, but only for those who love this genre; otherwise, it will undoubtedly seem like crap.

If you're wondering, yes, I'm the same person who reviews Cattle Decapitation!