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PHRENELITH “Ashen Womb”
PHRENELITH “Ashen Womb”
By Dr. Abner Mality
Denmark’s PHRENELITH play death metal just the way I like it...morbid yet mature, ultra-heavy yet well constructed. They are becoming one of those bands that embody all the admirable traits of the genre in these days when deathcore and jump on the bandwagon caveman death metal predominate.
A feeling of darkness permeates every minute of this record. It doesn’t sacrifice atmosphere for brutality yet the brutality is still there. PHRENELITH have compacted sophisticated death metal into easy to devour chunks. Cuts like “Astral Larvae”, “A Husk Wrung Dry” and “Lithopaedion” get the maximum impact out of their short running times, cramming the songs with truly morbid riffs that hearken back to the glory days of the genre. “Consuming Impulse”-era PESTILENCE comes to mind as a touchstone, but also INCANTATION, DEATH and ASPHYX are touched on.
When the urge to explore a little bit more hits, the band indulges it with longer tracks like “Nebulae” and the 10 minute plus title track. These keep the crushing darkness, but sound spacier and more progressive. Even the title track seems to last less than its actual run-time...always a great sign. And for something a little different, “Chrysopoeia” has a real cool swinging groove that’s different than anything else here.
This band should be at the forefront of the new death metal explosion. They sure deserve it more than some others who’ve led that pack. Pick this one up.
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