Album Review: Colpocleisis - Elegant Degradation
Reviewed by Patrick O'Reilly
Slam death is a much-maligned genre, the bastard son of death metal and hardcore it is often viewed as a lesser version of death metal due to it’s simpler song structures, breakdowns and ‘scene’ associations. Slam is on the rise though and the UK has a particularly healthy scene, bolstered by quality releases from other UK bands the new release from Colpocleisis is here and it’s a banger!
Colpocleisis aim towards an atmosphere of horror and brutality in their music, with this album themed around depraved lost souls wallowing in filth and rot whilst revelling in perversity and degradation, the music completely echoing this through it’s heaviness and relentless attack.
Great production means that all elements of the music are there in the mix with really great savage guitar and bass tones shredding over the top of classic tight drum sounds including an insane metallic snare sound. Vocals are superb with a really guttural deathly croak making up the majority whilst guest vocalists provide variety in the form of high end shrieks and other disgusting noises.
This is ridiculously heavy music, both in the bottom end rumbling breakdowns and also the fevered, rabid fast sections which are often neglected I find in slam in favour of putting more emphasis on the breakdowns, whilst some absolutely killer pinch harmonics add technical flourishes and embellish the brutality of the riffs.
Standout moments on the album for me are the crushing grind of ‘Discumbobulated’, the closing segment of ‘Third Degree Gurns’ which hits like vintage Suffocation and my personal favourite, ‘Corpocleisis’ with it’s Peep Show sample at the beginning of the song.
I am particularly looking forward to hearing this material played live, in a sweaty, heaving pit, the natural home of slam! I can imagine it would sound amazing in this environment and really hit home
Recommended fans of – Ingested, Crepitation, Devourment, Party Cannon
