Cytotoxin have well and truly embraced the Chernobyl disaster as impetus for what they term Nuclear Death Metal, and their latest foray, Biographyte (Self-Released) is yet another gruelling installment, for better and worse.

The eleven tracks play out as a medley of catastrophe, vocally and instrumentally. Though there are moments that seem repetitive, especially given the type of music, there still remain ample cases of effective and driven Tech Death.

“Behind Armored Doors” is boisterous and features an engaging thread throughout. Subtle atmospherics later on certainly doesn’t hurt, either.

As to be expected, the vocals are encased in radiation and contaminants. It’s as if they tripped into a vat of unidentified muck and turned into a seven-headed monster. “Condemnesia” feels beastly and is boosted by spiraling, perilous sweeps.

In fact, the strings consistently display acrobatic, rampant tendencies that make for bruising, bustling outputs. It not only creates virtuosic moments; it also strongly contributes to the record’s overall sense of panic and confusion.

Yet with all this considered, there is still a sense of some extra fat. The interlude “Revelation” might not be as integral on a record that already has ten other songs, and it’s not as if anything here is being reinvented or discovered for the first time.

Not to mention there is only so much that can be said (or shouted) about the sheer devastation that turned Pripyat into a global disaster.

But at the very least, Cytotoxin stick firmly to their roots and themes and their brand of Death Metal still packs a bone-cracking punch, albeit one that leaves a gooey residue in its wake.

Buy the album here:
https://www.cytotoxin.de/shop/

7 / 10
MATT COOK
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