Marrowomb - Phisenomie - Metal Epidemic

Marrowomb – Phisenomie
Release Date: 21st February 2025
Label: Self Released
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal, Black Metal, Blackened Death Metal, Groove Metal.
FFO: Decapitated, Polyptych, Endmember, Vredehammer, VLTIMAS.
Review By: Mark Young

Marrowomb has come together under the watchful eye of Frank Leto, who has basically done everything on here barring handing drum duties to Kevin Paradis (Ex Benighted). The songs and the overall concept has taken five years from inception to its release which must have felt like a lifetime and the accompanying press promises a lot.

And there is absolutely no messing about. After a short-spoken word extract, it’s full bore, full speed, all the full’s you want as Phantasia Kataleptike bursts into life on a personal mission to put the last 5 years behind it. It is a needle in the red experience as between Frank and Kevin they seek to pummel you without respite. Despite the blistering speed, there are a ton of melodic nuanced moments in here that stops it from becoming just another yawn-inducing speed fest. There is some storming triplet action towards the end as it wraps with the pair exhibiting some incredible synchronicity. For me, that first track has to be the killer, it sets everything up for all that follows after. This is one of those just songs that just demands your attention, such is the immediate impact of it. So obviously they do it again on Sickness Unto Life, where between them, they weave a tail of spinning guitar lines and some drumnastics that leave others in their dust. Like Phantasia, it’s not speed for speeds sake, there are enough twists and turns resulting in changes in direction that sees it bring in some massive riffs as well as that almost inhuman drumming, and it is slowly dawning on me that this could be one of the releases of the year.

Vicarious Visage enters into the black metal realm a little more with that percussive rhythm work and some cracking discordant notes. The whole thing is twisted so tight and reflecting back to the press, I don’t think they have done it justice. There is a recurring piece within it that sounds off, but somehow works in the context of this being the sound of a nightmare made flesh. The final act also shows that they can bring the atmosphere when required, as there is a brief calm before the storm comes back in. I should also mention that Frank has the necessary vocal delivery to make this the whole package, and I really should have mentioned that earlier. It’s pitched just right so that it fits the music behind it without dissolving into incoherence. Inner Ring brings more of that low atmosphere to the front and once again there is something there in the mix which sounds off, but that it meant to be there. Whatever it is, it adds a degree of tension to the arpeggio driven sections. Inner Ring opts for a more methodical approach in its attack, which if anything shines a light on how well put together the song is. It’s possibly an age thing now, but listen to this with a decent set of headphones, especially for the piano that suddenly starts up and isn’t off-putting in any way shape or form.

Black Gossamer is certainly not delicate or flimsy, and with this the BPM is tipped over to the right as Kevin plays out of his skin here. The guest solo from Curtis Vamarassi is suitably mental (which is how it should be) without sounding out of place. The battering riffs of Veil of Cold is next up, with rapid fire guitar work, whilst The Mirror drops a repeating riff as its level 1 form until they decide it’s time to change it into that almost hammer like percussive strumming. Greg Livas’s lead work is spot on here, bringing a frenzy that this song deserves. If anything, this could have worked better as a sub three minute track rather than repeating the arrangement once more, but what do I know?

What I do know is that in the last couple of reviews I’ve done, there have been a couple of long tracks dropped that I wouldn’t normally expect from this genre. One was Machine (Retromorphosis) which was exceptional, the other is Despairloom. With Despairloom, the method of attack is different. Starting off with what I thought was a mood-killer of an instrumental, a scorching solo came in and just like that the whole thing took off. There is still that off-key sound in there, but when the riffs start dropping like leaden rain you just put that to one side. Employing a vocal effect that makes him sound as though he’s underwater in a way that is similar to David Vincent on Where the Slime Live is a neat thing, but there isn’t a chance to take it in as the next part of this masterwork unfolds its wings and takes flight. I’m all for these longer songs as long as they are telling a story and are not repeating measures over and over and yes, it could have been shorter, but this is a minor complaint, and I mean minor.

I knew nothing of Frank Leto’s previous bands before this, and I know we have all read press that makes incredible promises of this or of that. This debut release is next level, it really is. It takes what you want from this style of music and just makes it better. In terms of picking a favourite song from it, it’s hard because each one reaches such a high standard and I think trying to pick one would do the rest a disservice. It’s probably easier to just buy it and enjoy it as the future classic that it is.