Enragement – Atrocities
Release Date: 29th April 2022
Label: Rising Nemesis Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Technical Death Metal, Death Metal, Brutal Death Metal.
FFO: The Faceless, Obscura, Abiotic.
Review By: Phoenyx Packer
Damn. 2022 is blowing past at unnatural speeds. Keeping up with all the hard-hitting releases can be difficult, even for the most dedicated fans of brutal music. A lengthy period without tours and festivals has many feeling a little enraged. However, there are lots of killer bands that kept busy, conjuring some of the best apocalyptic music yet. It could be stated that death metal is currently in its prime. Is Enragement’s album strong enough to compete within a genre flooded with lethal talent?
Enragement, formed in 2006, currently consists of 4 members. Each contributes to their 3rd unholy soundtrack “Atrocities” with outstanding technical proficiency. Every drum fill and overly aggressive riff is arranged carefully. Giving listeners countless tempo changes and variety in any given song. With both guitarists and the bassist providing some gristly vocals, Enragement offers an impressive range of screams and gutturals.
After a short instrumental, “Sadistic Sedition” immediately begins firing on all cylinders. “Lethal Human Experimentation” is a possible favorite of mine, blending technical speeds with pummelling brutal riffs perfectly. The drum barrage in the opening moments of “Heavenly Inferno” quickly makes it stand out as one of the strongest tracks here. “Decimating Winds of Phosphorous” has been released as a single already, putting on a fantastic display of violent slams. While “Trade in Viscera” manages to, instead, be a fist pumping death metal anthem that had me chanting loudly in my work truck. This album doesn’t lose any momentum. Flowing seamlessly into tracks that explore just about all of death metals sub-genres, “Atrocities” delivers big time.
Lasse Sannikka does a fantastic job behind the kit, adding an unrelenting ballistic assault that brought so much life into some of these songs. In combination with some fantastic riffs, moments of this album managed to capture some of the atmosphere of old-school death metal. The bass is not neglected however, as the low end of these songs can always be heard clearly, without losing any of its edge. A very balanced production here manages to bring out some of the technical elements, while still maintaining the bone crushing density of death metal.
It is tough to say whether there is enough here to make a significant impact in the vast community of extreme metal. It is evident right away though that this is a strong display of high-quality songwriting. Rather than reinventing death metal, “Atrocities” instead manages to capture many of the genre’s strongest traits. Giving listeners an album with plenty of replay-ability, however, it was obvious on the first listen that this is an album worth purchasing. To say I enjoyed listening to this one would be an understatement. All fans of brutal music should find plenty of savage material to enjoy in “Atrocities”.
(4 / 5)
