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ONCHOCERCIASIS ESOPHAGOGASTRODUODENOSCOPY "Fugue Gnawed from the Scabbed God Cerebrum"
ONCHOCERCIASIS ESOPHAGOGASTRODUODENOSCOPY "Fugue Gnawed from the Scabbed God Cerebrum"
By Thor
The internationally based experimental brutal death metal trio ONCHOCERCIASIS ESOPHAGOGASTRODUODENOSCOPY—henceforth to be referred to as OxE, is back with their sophomore LP, "Fugue Gnawed from the Scabbed God Cerebrum"…henceforth to be typed as few times as possible.
This was my first time experiencing this group’s brew of extreme metal. I had no idea what to expect. I figured the name was a tip of the hat to the band’s sense of humor. I mean, how could you possibly name yourselves THAT and NOT be funny? Right?? Well…
Fortunately, for OxE, they play a style of death metal that’s unlike anything I’ve heard yet. And I’ve heard damn near everything. Most importantly, their uniqueness is actually good, not alienating. It’s also somewhat difficult to describe. Uh-oh…I guess you’ll have to go wrap your ears around this one and hear it for yourselves!
However, the conventional elements, despite being organically integrated into that which sets this band apart from literally everything else in the extreme music universe, are relatively easy to describe. The drums are blast-beat-forward, but groove when necessary. They’re also programmed, unfortunately. The guitar work is best described as brutal tech-death but with out-of-pocket flourishes galore, while the vocals are gutturals of the garbage disposal variety, reminiscent of early-2000s SIK FUK (believe it or not). As far as I can tell, there is no bass guitar here which is also unfortunate. That’s two unfortunates in one paragraph…
There are a variety of synth pads and sub-drops that do a bit to mitigate what would otherwise be a thin sounding mix. Once again, OxE’s interesting approach to their music kind of saves it.
Conceptually, I’m not entirely sure what’s going on. The song titles contain lots of big words that at the very least evoke vibes that gel well with those of the music, so whatever they’re gurgling about, it works. Some examples are “The Fallen Lament, Paralytikus Ascends”, “Entombed Within the Infinite Panopticon”, and “Vile Verses Flogged into the Wings of Angels”.
So, even though OxE’s "Fugue Gnawed from the Scabbed God Cerebrum" has a few befuddling, mostly self-inflicted flaws, it’s musically interesting enough to overcome them. It’s perfect for the jaded old death metal fan who’s heard it all before. You haven’t…SURPRISE!
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