Death metal has always been a very hit-or-miss subgenre for me but most of it I do appreciate it. In good news, I have been listening to the new Engulfed album, Unearthly Litanies of Despair (Me Saco Un Ojo/Dark Descent Records), and it is certainly a hit and not a miss. Just shy of forty minutes, the four-piece from Turkey slams and shreds their way through your cranium. Just the right mixture of grimy OSDM and technical fretwork gives this album some replayability.
“Voidwalker’s Dominion” is one of my favorites off of Unearthly Litanies of Despair. The main riff is slow and heavy while the drums blast beat the wall of noise into your mind. Then at the bridge ahead of a fiery guitar solo, a devastating breakdown hits that took me by surprise.
“Blasphemous Despair” is another memorable track that helps show off what Engulfed can do. The opening riff with tons of tremolo picking and thunderous drumming really makes it feel like this will be an endurance track. Then a groovy section hits with a guitar solo over the top that will get the headbangers bangin’. A second section of this same configuration comes back in towards the end of the track before a final refrain.
“Occult Incantations” is the closing song on the album and goes out in style. Opening up with just a slow, filthy guitar riff helps signify that this is the end. At about ninety seconds in, the tremolo guitar kicks in with the double bass. The song continues to escalate but keeps the same slow and steady character up through the clean guitar outro.
While there is a level of monotony across the album, the formula made by Engulfed is certainly a good one. Unearthly Litanies of Despair from front to back is a solid, straight forward, death metal album that any fan of the genre can find enjoyment in. For only their second full-length, they seem to have found an identity that may not break the mold, but it is an identity made up of staples in the genre.
Buy the album here:
https://mesacounojo.bandcamp.com/album/unearthly-litanies-of-despair
6 / 10
TIM LEDIN