The Dying Planet Weeps (Everlasting Spew Records) – Engulf‘s first full-length – is the solo project of Hal Microutsicos (Blasphemous.) The opening track benefits from a dissonant throb, rather than following the course most death metal takes in pummeling you with a head-first assault.
Going into this album, there might be some trepidation regarding the fact that the drums are programmed, rather than having a human behind the kit. However, technology is now at a place, for better or for worse, where it is hard to pick this out unless your ears focus on the drums, and then the double bass is a little sterile in its precision. In this more technical style of death metal, many drummers use triggers to achieve the rapid-fire double kick feel so it is forgivable.
Kevin Muller from Alluvial lends his snarl to the second song. But I really would not be able to pick his growl out from a line-up, it reminds me of Steve Tucker. The vocals are not the only Morbid Angel-like element as the pitch-bended squeals Trey Azagthoth is known for also scream out of the dense chugging.
Though if you are playing death metal you can not be faulted for having Morbid Angel as an influence; it’s more of an asset. Sven de Caluwé from Aborted proves to have a more distinct rasp to his voice, as it is obvious someone else has stepped up to the mic when his voice appears on “The Nefarious Hive.”
Mood and atmosphere prove to be one of Hal’s strengths, as these provide a wonderful counterpoint to the massive crushing riffage that dominates the song’s landscape on “Ominous Grandeur.” The riffs uncoil with a serpentine slither, as the melodies coat the proceedings in darkness. Fans of nineties death metal will appreciate the direction this album goes in, even though the sounds used to craft these songs are not attempts to recapture the feel of the era in any manner of retro homage.
By the time we come to “Lunar Scourge” things are being dialed in with a more overbearing ear for perfection that finds the instrumentation in such a tight lockstep that some of the mood is lost in the more machine-like feel this execution brings.
Pat Bonvin from Near Death Condition contributes a guitar solo to “Plagued Oblivion”. As far as these kinds of guitar embellishments go, it finds the most effective blend of chaos and melody, but more importantly steers clear of masturbatory excess by serving the song. “Earthbore” erupts from a more thoughtful intro. The guest list continues as Enrico Di Lorenzo from Hideous Divinity lends his growl to the song, which proves he has a voice that is more faceless than other guttural utterances unleashed on this album so far.
The title track that closes the album allows the guitars to linger long enough for a mood to be established rather than rushing to steamroll you with their chugs. They linger so much that the dynamic range of the song is somewhat limited to hovering around melodic themes, to create what feels more like an outro than a song that measures up to the others.
If you are looking for dark and moody death metal that is technically sound but more song-focused than flashy fretboard showmanship or a traffic jam of time signatures then this album is worth your time.
Buy the album here:
https://everlastingspewrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-dying-planet-weeps
8 / 10
WIL CIFER