Album Review: Decrepisy - Deific Mourning
Reviewed by Sam Jones
You have to love the sheer abundance of extreme metal these days. The US, as this next record demonstrates, is overflowing with quality acts. Decrepisy, poised to unleash their second album, formed in 2019 out of Oregon and have been on my radar for some time following their exceptional, apocryphal album debut, Emetic Communion, graced with the light of day back in 2021. Yet the band haven’t released much between records, merely a Single and even then that contributed to this opus. The band have remained entirely the same so established fans should expect something not too heavily removed from what they received the first time round, especially given the band members’ various histories with other related acts such as Ascended Dead, Chthonic Deity, Funebrarum, Coffin Rot, Ritual Necromancy and many more. Deific Mourning is also the band’s first work to be distributed through Carbonized Records, prepped for a March 28th release date.
Right out of the gate, Decrepisy come storming in with more than enough atmospheric immersion to get us confident in their ability to pull us in. On the whole the band don’t do too much out of left-field to keep us invested that isn’t already an aspect of their instrumental or vocal capabilities, but there are times when the chords are playing away and the bass is allowed to just wander and keep wandering in the background creating this dissonant, heinous hellscape. It’s a welcome change to hear the bass allowed to linger as opposed to the riffs primarily, yet on the other hand the guitar often exhibits this warped and misshapen sound that feels like the record is taking us down a more deranged path, rather than the doom-laden road alone. Though they are playing a record of death/doom it feels like they don’t need to try too hard to get us on their side and invested in their immersive element for you can feel the weight of their riffs easily as well.
Speaking of which, whilst their tone is crushing and formidable with the bass thrown into the mix, its nice to acknowledge that the guitar work isn’t attempting to crush our skulls through sheer pressure or mass. The band are evidently bringing a ton of weight down on our shoulders and you can feel that mass through each succeeding track, yet their riffs feel to have been wrapped up in enough cushioning material whereby the impact is felt but the crater made by said impact isn’t as total as other acts might try to create. The band put themselves right at the forefront of the mix, there’s little they’re looking to hide or mask with their songwriting, however you can easily feel the might their riffs are bringing down. Listening to them further, it feels like the guitars have been brought a touch back in the mix, further back than other acts might wish; death/doom bands are notorious for pushing their guitars right into our faces but here Decrepisy give us that needed space to thoroughly process the huge scope of their sound. Throw in the additional and numerous quieter sections and this record becomes a more agreeable, accommodating experience.
That brings us round to why this record isn’t just another sensory crusher. When you listen to Deific Mourning you’ll be startled to find that it isn’t looking to bury you; immerse, surround, ensnare certainly, but never crush. It never becomes suffocating to the point that carrying on becomes a chore nor does its songwriting become a menial task to proceed processing. The overall tempo is neither fast, leaning towards death metal, nor is it overtly slow, embracing its doom aspect; Decrepisy occupy a space between the two so whilst you’re receiving a fusion of the two they absolutely have their strength present itself when playing at steadier paces. Coupled with blast beats and meaner sounding sequences, there are times when their intensity does shoot skyward, but then things rapidly descend to bring you back towards level ground. Its this ground the band appear especially apt working upon for their more perturbed and dismembering guitar playing comes into effect here. It’s beyond contemporary death/doom in these instances, incorporating outright technical and dissonant styles that are usually absent in this form of extreme metal. Decrepisy take their own time with their death/doom, helping elevate them before the typical rank and file.
I think its fantastically well produced but special credit must goes to the mix as well. We’ve heard numerous death/doom records that have been cleaner, and just as many that have been filthy. But Decrepisy’s handling of production certainly seems to be less inclined towards merely buffing or polishing their record and more geared for ensuring a seamless listening experience. Looking back across the record you’ll be hard pressed to find a single snag or bump in the record’s amour that could trip our processing their songwriting. Its this exceedingly smooth ride even though we recognise the band’s powerful, cerebrally violent songwriting when the time comes round. The instrumentation and vocals ooze nihilism and all that wondrously tasty material such a cavernous sounding record could infer, yet what would typically be a crustier soundscape has been wiped, smoothed with finesse so the dirtier details of the album are entirely deliberate. Its why the record doesn’t grate on us at all; we know this is one foul sounding, coarse record but the band make it clear that’s it be done through design and technical decisions. These riffs are awash with viscera but since they’ve been tidied up just enough for their clarity to come through unchallenged, we don’t feel the crushing sensation and can thus press on happily.
In conclusion, I can easily imagine Decrepisy on tour supporting an acclaimed name like Spectral Voice for example, the pair of them share the same love for crushing soundscapes, lengthy and immersive tracks as well as riffs that often fall outside conventional death/doom expectations. I remember thoroughly enjoying their Emetic Communion album upon discovering it, however I feel like Deific Mourning is a massive leap forward for the band. This record feels so much bigger, more complex and downright sadistic than their previous album outing. This is how death/doom should be done and how it should make us feel. There wasn’t one moment where I felt their songwriting was dragging, even as they began their near nine minute closer; if anything I was overjoyed to see such a long track as it meant the band had additional time to work with, employing their wild, cosmic gravitas, taking us into fervent and unknown territories. Easily a record many should take notice of come its release date of March 28th. Carbonized Records are on to a winning band here, an absolutely monolithic record that isn’t afraid to push its audiences into strange, alien aeons and make altars of disembowelled gods.
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