Album Review: Mephitic Corpse - Sickness Attracts Sickness
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Here’s a record I didn’t have on my horizon at all, at least u til I viewed the cover art for the first time. Upon doing so, my curiosity was instantly piqued and here we have Mephitic Corpse’s debut full length work for us to review. The band, hailing from California, United States, formed in 2019, style themselves as a death metal/Grindcore outfit and right out of the gate, releasing their first Demo within the same year under the title of Immense Thickening Vomit, it’s abundantly evident the band aren’t here to hold our hands nor are they shying away from the more gruesome and visceral body horror. While nothing forthwith followed suit immediately, Mephitic Corpse release another Demo last year this time though through Headsplit Records. But at last, slated for a February 1st release date, Mephitic Corpse are here with their first album having been picked up by Extremely Rotten Productions no less. Depicting industrialised immolation, the band are here to make a statement so let’s dive in to see how impactful Sickness Attracts Sickness really is.
Hey, do you like fuzz? That’s good. Mephitic Corpse are giving you a full three-course dinner of fuzz with a side salad of fuzz too; the instance the instrumentation kicks off you understand what kind of record this is going to be and it is not going to care one iota for your opinion. The basslines fuzz with an anger that’s rarely seen in bass guitars, but what this does is layer the record’s foundations with such a vicious membrane that merely listening to the bass alone engages us. At the band’s seemingly quietest moments the ground beneath us is churning in rage and discomfiture as even the bedrock of this album sways, as if attempting to shirk us from listening to it. In some manner, the band are actively challenging us to stick with it as the record actively tries hurling you off each song you’re listening to; like clinging to the cliff’s face as it summons wind and waves to battle your grip upon its walls. The band know their sound isn’t for the faint of heart and thus challenge our mettle at every moment.
But if you thought the challenge would abate once the riffs and vocals step in you are deeply mistaken, for band’s intensity arguably doubles down and the full might of their soundscape is brought to bear. I must acknowledge however how pummelling their songwriting is and yet the smoothness by which this assault is thrown at us. The band aren’t taking prisoners but even so their performance isn’t grating on the senses; I was able to withstand the full brunt of their sound surprisingly well, even with the brutality inherent, and I believe it’s because their soundscape doesn’t stab not pierce us. It’s a well-rounded shape that continuously bounces track by track and envelops you into its immersive ferocity; less a fist punching you in the face Sickness Attracts Sickness is more akin to a band holding you in a headlock. You might not be able to escape but at least this posture beats being bludgeoned at every moment. Praise therefore must be handed to the mix as it manages to balance each downtuned, bass-heavy element thrown into their performance as even the vocals showcase guttural tones on par with the heaviest bass tones on record. This could have easily been a mess but it’s clear the band did not want a polished soundscape; on that front they’ve thoroughly succeeded.
Each track included is pretty short, refusing to run on for too long, however owing to the choices of songwriting and tone the band agreed upon, it’s likely fortuitous to the audience that the runtime isn’t excessive. With such simultaneously crunching and crushing tones assailing us, lengthier tracks could run the risk of losing our attention the longer they play for. Thus I believe the band made the right call in keeping their tracks brief yet sweet, for upon repeated listens the audience will know they don’t need to maintain a prolonged engagement to get the most out of the band’s performance. Mephitic Corpse keep things straightforward; start a song, kill your audience, refuse to elaborate, leave. I could imagine the band doing something in future where they experiment with something broodier, something morose, but here the band are ensuring their name is established. With that said, though the band don’t stick around for long across each track they’ve ensured the songwriting is fluidic enough to keep moving whereby our attention hardly wanes. Though you might be listening to one sequence in the moment it won’t be long before the band change it up, perhaps injecting a blast beat or solo to give each track the necessary adrenaline to keep you on board with such a monolithic assault.
Though the instrumentation is going wild, I appreciate how the vocals never attempt to move out of their own crafted space. There are very few moments anywhere throughout the record where the vocals actively try and perform above the riffs or drumming; as a result the vocals mesh with the rest of the band’s sound to craft a singular assault upon the senses. Since the vocal timbre never rises higher than the guitar or bass tone, it focuses our attention onto a very specific wavelength, one that the band rarely move from and I believe that’s why their mix seems so agreeable; the mixing process didn’t really need to do too much work to bind it all together since vocals and instrumentation aren’t heavily different from each other. If the multiple elements were more varied then the mix would have a harder time, but the ease of the mixing process surely aided the band in rounding out this performance into something easily digestible and listenable for us. Mephitic Corpse manage to bring that Mortician vibe to us without clinging to it as a crutch. Though you won’t make a syllable of the vocals out, the impact derived from their performance is vast.
In conclusion, Sickness Attracts Sickness is a record that plasters its contents upon every surface the audience can view prior to our diving into its contents. Anyone disappointed or thrown off by what they discover within should see the fault within themselves for Mephitic Corpse, at no instance, they subverting what is carry clearly a work of brutal death metal that doesn’t hide its nature. It’s fierce and heavy on the bass and does precisely what you think it’s going to do for eleven tracks straight and therefore people should not judge this album based off what it doesn’t do. Yes, it is meat and potatoes death metal but last I checked very people had any legitimate issues with that dish since it has always satisfied so many millions of people before; it’s a winning combination. As mentioned previously I’m curious to see what the band could do in the future; will they include more brutal elements, moodier examples of songwriting? Could they slow things down, go breakneck speed? Time will tell. But Sickness Attracts Sickness certainly is a violent and noxious record to be experienced.
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