Album Review: Perishing - Malicious Acropolis Unveiled
Reviewed by Sam Jones
The name of Perishing has been doing the rounds lately and so I finally decided to take the plunge. Perishing, from San José, Costa Rica, are a death/doom act who only formed in 2023 however after releasing their Demo, Lutum, a year later, the band have already found themselves amongst Transcending Obscurity Records’ roster of bands. Perishing now find themselves preparing to unleash their debut studio album, Malicious Acropolis Unveiled, for an October 17th release date. When a band this young is already signed onto a major label I can’t not take notice; this is Perishing’s first record.
Well if there’s anything to say right off the bat it’s that Perishing don’t restrain the scope of their sound. Death/doom is a populous subgenre these days and I’ve found many records that try and contain their riffs, and the resonance emitted, thereby crafting soundscapes where the experience suffocates, stifles us. Perishing however let loose their sound entirely, releasing any such restraints or chains from their riffs, their drums etc. When one hears Perishing perform one receives a sweeping and free guitar attack that hadn’t been bound to one particular space. Here the riffs are given all the room they’d desire to breathe, but also so much more freedom to let their notes ring and linger until the next chord comes into play. Letting the riffs have such freedom also frees our senses from being crushed at every conceivable chance, enabling us to focus, hone in on the band and whatever else they’ve brought with them.
Though Perishing may not immediately reflect the miasma of a sunken and dank swamp, the vocals absolutely do. You’ll likely find vocals that shall be heavier than these or harness something more bellowing and guttural, but this performance is atmospherically rich as one almost feels seaweed and decades-matured moss drooping from oneself upon emerging out of the mire. Regarding the pacing I think the vocals set the tone first and foremost since they’ve been gifted a prominent position in the mix; conversely from being suffocated by the instrumentation the vocals easily hold the vanguard amidst the record, whereby the listener follows the band’s flow at the pace set by the vocals. Even as the tempo picks up as riffs and drums intensify, the vocals aren’t changing gears and thus provide a linchpin to the record.
I think many will take to Perishing’s brand of death/doom because it’s not the kind that’s seeking to barrel you over with exorbitant tone and power at every turn, rather it’s the way it uses momentum gathered by the instrumentation that keeps you locked in and engaged. There’s no secret that the riffs and drums are tough to separate here, not via the mix, but in how they blend together in synergy with one another. It’s the tone they both possess as each manages to mirror the other; the riffs ooze with additional strength as provided by the bass drums and the drum tracks punch with visceral wounds due to the guitars’ freed yet dense, clenched strike.
I appreciate Perishing’s willingness in places to drop vocals entirely or the guitar or bass wholly from a track for significant portions of time. “Las Ruinas Del Palacio” doesn’t include vocals until the back half of its runtime, giving us secluded time with riffs that guide and flow with us until their frontman returns to the fray. “Autolysis (I. Imago Fluidus Macula)” features an out that sees a cascading, successive absence of instrumentation where the riffs dissipate, leaving you with these rabid and erratic basslines alongside the vocals, yet even then there comes a time where the bass departs and the vocals become the sole means of pushing the track forth to its end.
In conclusion, Perishing’s first full length record will certainly put Costa Rican metal on the map. As death/doom goes this is a most well-rounded and composed piece that allows for easy listening as much as it is ferocious and building. Perishing perform extreme metal with momentum and gradually ascending pace in mind, a technique whereby instrumentation and vocals come together not to punch you in the jugular but to get your surroundings increasingly vibrating, rocking, until you’ve got nothing left to stand on. As a result their soundscape feels grander in scope without them needing to try and fill every inch of that space with their sound, it’s why it feels easy to relax almost. Even when their intensity reaches the zenith and we recognise it as such we’ll never feel like it’s too much for us. Perishing might be a new act but this record is bound to draw many in.
