Imagine if I was your bartender and your poison of choice was Death Metal. I would happily serve you an AntropomorphiA, which would be a classic, blackened, with a heavy dose of Satan and a splash of destruction. It’s a killer recipe and the best way to describe their new album Merciless Savagery (Metal Blade Records). With this album, the extreme Dutch Metallers return with the intent to melt your face off. This record follows up two years after their previous album, Sermon Ov Wrath, and it also marks the tenth anniversary of the band’s inception. It also highlights the musical progression of the band during their decade-long career.
This album definitely starts with a vengeance having a head-strong title track. It most certainly makes the statement for the entire album and sets the tone in terms of sound, lyrical content, and speed. It’s a very bold, in-your-face song that really riles up the listener. This is definitely how a Death Metal fan should feel when they listen to a new album for the first time. I would definitely love to hear it performed live when they visit my city.
What I love the most about this album is the production, especially when compared to their previous work. The sound quality overall is much more clear and clean. You can both hear and appreciate what this album offers.
As the intensity of the album increases, there were a few notable tracks that stood out to me. The third track, ‘Womb Ov Thorns’ stood out the most as it had a lot of depth to it. It was strikingly different in terms of the sound we are accustomed to hearing in
AntropomorphiA’s music. Another track that stood out to me was ‘Luciferian Tempest,’ which I absolutely loved because it included symphonic female vocals; definitely a first for the band and something I think they should include more in their future work. The song being so heavy and dark in contrast with the beautifully angelic vocals sung by Farida Lemouchi (The Devil’s Work, Molasses) created a haunting melody that was like iron and silk. Some other honorable mentions are ‘Apocalyptic Scourge’ which I loved for its speed and drumming; it really comes at you heavy and is sure to serve you some brutality as well as ‘Wailing Chorus Of The Damned’ as it is possibly the heaviest song on the entire album.
Overall, I really love and appreciate how this album delivers. It’s one of their best albums to date and only indicates better things to come in the future. For this album to be the one that celebrates the band’s ten year mark, it pretty damn perfect. It solidifies who they are and it embodies what they have done, what they have contributed to the genre and their overall message. It is very rebellious in many ways and I love how they introduced and incorporated new sounds without abandoning their true sound. It is a really good record.
7 / 10
KIM GILL