Album Review: Sedimentum - Suppuration Morphogénésiaque
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Sedimentum are a band I’ve had my eyes on for only a short span of time, yet in that time they’ve managed to continuously impress me with what they’ve been offering. Formed out of Quebec, Canada, Sedimentum started up in 2018 where they’ve been humbly churning out a Split and a Demo here and there however, Suppuration Morphogenesiaque is their major opportunity to demonstrate what they can really bring to the table. The fact that they’re a death metal act out of Quebec instantly grabbed my attention; that Canadian province appears to be some bizarre hotspot for ruthless death metal, e.g. Outre-Tombre, so Sedimentum definitely earned themselves a listen with their origins. The artwork also drew me too, being the senseless and near-formless kind of art that has become such the rage amidst cavernous and gruelling death metal acts. But its time to dive into this nightmare and claw away the muck to discern what exactly these mad Canadians have primed for us.
It’s quite possibly the ugliest sounding death metal I’ve heard since Cerebral Rot’s latest record last year. It’s not simply in the crushing guitar tone, but with the overall timbre that’s been lent to this album’s soundscape. Experiencing this album is like witnessing chaos in slow motion where we’re able to follow everything that’s going on, and yet, the soundscape isn’t so maddening nor senseless that we can’t hazard a guess as to where the band are taking us. The riffs, bass and vocals all manage to blend together but we’re still able to pick apart the individual components that go together to form this record. The guitar work may be as abrasive as sandpaper, but the band ensured we can still notice when new elements are coming to and fro. this is a dreadfully hideous soundscape but the band still understand when to pull back a notch, allowing their audience to listen keenly to a guitar solo or when the vocals return with monstrous vigour. Overall, the band recognise where, and for how long, their atmospheric element needs to pummel you for.
But it’s not merely the fact that this album possesses a crunching and crushing soundscape that renders Sedimentum’s sound with such ferocity. Listen closely and you’ll see just how much impact a singular riff or chord has to bear on us. It’s why the riffs hit us as hard as they do; it’s not simply the speed the band are willing to play at in conjunction with their atmosphere, the sheer compacted density these riffs harness is something to behold. There are segments throughout this record, utilising the distorted and sledgehammer-heavy tone, that genuinely brought goosebumps to my skin. It’s a realisation that the band are actually prepared to do this kind of songwriting, on their debut studio release too no less. You’ll be looking to rewind and replay various songs throughout the record as you’re going along; the stellar weight this record exudes is hypnotic, clutching your throat with every strum.
Yet, as we continue, we will learn that this album is a genuine sun of all its parts. The weight this record exudes, as we saw prior, isn’t merely down to the songwriting and riffs alone. Coupling the guitar work and vocals, alongside the drumming, it makes for an album that absolutely understands when the full power of its sound needs to be utilised. For a work of barbaric and cavernous death metal, you’re going to receive a fair amount of blast beats on the go; the band clearly wanted a visceral and punishing record that would hold us prisoner until it’s final seconds play out. This album isn’t giving you an escape route, once you’re stuck in you are in for the long run, suffocating you within its hellscapes. The drums help emphasise this with Tom-toms that emit enough of a sound that they can be heard amidst the devastating riffs, but it’s the bass drums that manage to truly lend the most power to the overall performance. No doubt amplified by a strong bass within the mix, the periods where the pacing relaxes are where the bass drums definitely come into their own. In an almost symbiotic relationship, the bass drums latch onto the slowed guitar tone and help provide that annihilating sound. Fast or slow, Sedimentum are a force to be feared.
Sometimes you don’t want vocals that are the growling or bellowing type, sometimes what you need is a delivery that best fits the sound you’re projecting. In this instance, the vocal performance is nigh on demonic. It doesn’t need to be massively overpowering because then it’s in competition with the riffs and general soundscape. Here, they’ve made the right decision I believe. They’ve allowed the guitar assault to be what it is and given the vocals their own position and responsibility in the record’s framework. The vocals are here filling in any leftover nooks and crannies the riffs would be unable to find; once all these elements fuse together there isn’t an inch of space for your ears to wander. This album is bursting with sound, it’s completely immersive. There are times when the vocals do rise to give us more boisterous shrieking but, for the most part, the band’s vocal performance is pretty median and gives us something to focus on to as the riffs and chaos spiral around us.
In conclusion, this is an album worthy of your time. Not since my first discovery of Frozen Soul, Tomb Mold etc have I encountered a band and an album that has done nothing but sought to destroy my being. This record may dip in and out of pacing throughout its runtime, but at no point do Sedimentum give you any room to breathe, to escape or to run. There is absolutely no freedom from this album and that may just be the highest praise I can give it; this record gives us this sense of absolute confinement within its sonic walls and I couldn’t be more ecstatic by what they managed to instil within this album. It gives you no mercy at all, yet still gives you the freedom to at least see what might be coming next. With just one album, Sedimentum’s debut studio work, the band have joined the illustrious ranks of Frozen Soul, Tomb Mold and Cerebral Rot as the premiere titans of cavernous death metal. I’ve got no issue in naming this amongst my Album Of The Year contenders. What Sedimentum have managed to inject into this record that doesn’t even span 40 minutes is sublime. Blistering yet conherent, a sprawling chaos but held together and projected into a streamlined performance, Suppuration Morphogenesiaque may be a mouthful of a title but there’s so much more contained within to keep us satisfied. Outstanding.
