Anthropophagus Depravity – Demonic Paradise
Release Date: 21st June 2024
Label: Comatose Music
Bandcamp
Genre: Brutal Death Metal
FFO: Devangelic, Immolation, Cryptopsy, Incantation.
Review By: Eric Wilt
To the uninitiated, all death metal sounds brutal, but those of us who listen to the genre know that there are bands whose level of brutality makes some death metal bands sound tame by comparison. Anthropophagus Depravity is a band that is pushing death metal to evermore brutal places. Hailing from Indonesia, Anthropophagus Depravity broke out in 2021 with their stellar debut LP Apocalypto. Now they’re back with album number two, the aptly titled Demonic Paradise. I say apt because I expect this album to be the one to catch fire in the global death metal scene.
Filled with groove-heavy riffing, disgusting gutturals, and anchored by a constant barrage of blast-beats, Demonic Paradise is brutal death metal the way it was intended to sound. Not that Anthropophagus Depravity doesn’t slow things down from time to time; songs like Malicious Catastrophe, the title song, and the instrumental track–Of Condemnation feature some particularly tasty slams, but when they are playing balls to the wall on songs like The Obscure Realm, Obliterate the Sanctified, and Delusions of the Unholy is when they are at their most aggressive and intense.
If I had to find something to change about the album, I would omit the music-less track When the Darkthrone Reigns. Obviously its tortured and sinister sound effects are meant to enhance the theme of the album, but at three-minutes in length, I find myself skipping it soon after it begins. Besides this one minor complaint, Demonic Paradise is a top-tier brutal death metal release, and I hope it gets Anthropophagus Depravity the notoriety they deserve!
(4 / 5)
