Album Review: Plasmodulated - An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Plasmodulated’s first full length album is some time coming. Their name has cropped up periodically though now is my prime opportunity to understand what Plasmodulated are all about. Curiously the band began initially as a side project of fellow Wharflurch member Myk Colby, but soon formed a live lineup as of early 2023. Forming in 2021 out of Florida, United States, that overarching bastion of death metal, Plasmodulated got to work quickly by releasing their first Demo in 2022 then, the following year, no doubt bolstered by the established lineup, they released their first Single, Live Album and a Split alongside Necrovision, Festergore and Ectospire all before 2023 was out. Now bringing their longest silence to an end, Plasmodulated are looking to release their superlatively titled debut full length: An Ocean Ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell. Set for an August 1st release date through Dawnbreed Records, Plasmodulated are looking to demonstrate their macabre, vomitous handiwork and, given artwork showcasing this psychedelic, inhospitable universe of sludge where even the sun is marred, i was keen to dive in.
Though Plasmodulated are certainly correctly labelled as old school death metal, their songwriting packs a significant technical edge. You’ll get sequences of punching, chunky riffs before their performance becomes intersected by technical elements that sees the guitar work employ pinched harmonics, more intricate displays of playing etc. When this comes into effect it’s as if the guitar work is slanted, the way italics are used in documents, temporarily used to underline specific parts the audience should take note of before delving us back into the chaos of it all. In addition, their pacing is rather choppy as riffs and the like rarely play uninterrupted, with this stop/start momentum that will see us completely throw out all such predictions of where the band may take us.
This is one of those occasions where the album cover really does represent the songwriting contained within. Though you’ll have an idea what to anticipate, Plasmodulated have coated their performance in this putrefying, melting aesthetic. Though there is strength in abundance waiting for you the band’s long-lasting impact will be found in its decaying essence, even the sun on the cover is sick. Listening to the guitar work showcases Plasmodulated’s tendency to write more cerebral, grandiose licks than their contemporaries would, where their playing instils something bolder, more dramatic, than mere head crushing death metal would aspire for. This can only be fortuitous for the band given this slight alteration to riff styles, aiding them in standing out. The inclusion of synthesisers is a welcome touch too, injecting a cosmic horror that whilst subtle maintains an undeniable presence.
What makes the pacing, unusual yet so satisfying, is the fact that the guitars and drums are always working alongside each other. It’ll become evident as you listen that this record definitely took time to plan out since you can’t just conceive songwriting this developed overnight. You’ll get your blast beats and your bass drums, they’re not the only force the drums employ, but they are used to establish the band’s more fearsome moments. When the intensity relaxes so do the drums, and so shall the riffs you’ll find; there’s a synergy occurring here plain as day as one reinforces the other. Once you recognise this it’s like discovering a secret, encouraging you to listen that much closer to what else the band have hiding before your eyes. That technicality we mentioned beforehand is also present in the drums as they rarely dish out conventional patterns anywhere here; the precision to place this strike there or that pattern there across the riffs and basslines is so demanding, yet drummer Jonathan Griffin demonstrates his talent with ease.
Listening to the two-parter track “Entering The Gastral Realm” proved a point I’d been considering during my time with the band: Plasmodulated feels like Blood Incantation, if they were playing with a fever. The grandiosity is there, so too are the spacey, near ethereal vibes, but everything possesses a combustible sheen, like its been doused with petroleum, it’s more malignant, toxic, waiting for that single spark to set it aflame. The facade of conventional death metal deliberately wanes very easily throughout the record, it’s no mistake that the longer you persist here the weirder, more misaligned and flat-out wrong this record starts to sound. It’s almost like the band should not exist in this spacetime realm and the longer they endure here the greater risk they become to themselves, hence this near deteriorating structure of standardised death metal.
In conclusion, Plasmodulated’s first album is a record that lives up to its promise and then some. Though its title might insinuate something miasmic and dripping with mildew, this work is much more avant-garde than many will expect as the Blood Incantation comparisons come in thick and fast. The band may use technicality across their songwriting but it’s not a majority; here it’s utilised to reinforce the spacey aesthetic we’ve covered. What I do appreciate is that spacey vibe isn’t thrust clean in your face, the band use the time they’ve got here to organically develop their soundscape. The record you realise you’re listening to doesn’t make itself clear until you’re quite far into its runtime, and when you understand its identity it’s a relief, for it’s not your run-of-the-mill death metal. Plasmodulated are a band I’d be very interested in seeing again and this is a record warranting repeat listens to pick up anything you might have missed out on the first time round. Sickeningly sublime.
