Swelling Repulsion – Fatally Misguided
Release Date: 7th June 2024
Label: Transcending Obscurity
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal, Technical Death Metal.
FFO: Disharmonic, Afflicted, Defect Designer.
Review By: Andy Spoon
I really wouldn’t have guessed that the front-of-the-mix vocals and bass guitar would rule an entire death metal album, but I’m thankfully surprised and pleased with the Transcending Obscurity group Swelling Repulsion for their June 7th release Fatally Misguided, as it is going to be one of the more-fun listens to experience in recent months. Thankfully, the group agrees with some of my sentiment as they intentionally wanted to create an album that wasn’t up its own ass to such a degree that it impeded the “rock and roll” aspect of the extreme music genre, as so many artists have begun to do in recent years, quoting “This is busy, indulgent death metal music that is fun to listen to for a change and isn’t as self-absorbed to come off as sounding too mechanical, premeditated or detached” in their press release.
Fatally Misguided is one of the better albums of the year insofar as the bass guitar is employed. I think that this one and Job For A Cowboy will be remembered for the bass guitar work that is so-prevalent in the mix. I think that it gave a superb life to the album, as it tends to be right in the front of the mix. There are more than enough bass power chords and harmonic double-notes that add to the overall tone of the album in a good way. I think that there are few moments across the entire album that are not totally inundated with the crushing, filthy bass riffs and chunky lows. In my eyes, this approach is one of the best ways to bring the sludgy, nasty atmosphere to a death metal album.
I think that vocally, the album stands out as the vocal delivery is varied, offering a combination of gurgly-lows and nasal higher notes that tend to show a wider range than many of the other bands in the brutal death or traditional death metal categories. I think that there were plenty of moments across the first couple of listens where I found myself saying “oh shit! That was sick!”, something that I try to remember in case others might want to know where the good bits are on the album. I was able to decipher numerous events where the vocals were the perfect cherry on top of the musical section’s onslaught.
I was slightly disappointed as most of the tracks on the album were in the same key, preventing me from really being able to distinguish between many of the movements without listening to the song for a while. I really wish that more artists would help listeners break up the track-to-track sections of the songs with even the smallest variations and riffs that help differentiate the dynamic flow between. For instance, the beginning of the track “Cesspool of Dismembered Memory” employs a fun sample track to start the song, something that I think could have been copied, in style, to other segments of the album. All that being said, it doesn’t really take away from anything, just really a minor annoyance that often makes it hard for me to find my favorite tracks on a long-play session. I think that if you’re a fan of ear-drilling Swedish-style death metal guitar with loud, progressive bass riffs and Morbid Angel’s vocals, you really might enjoy the sonic assault that is Swelling Repulsion, supposing you aren’t looking for an offering that isn’t up its own ass to the degree where it forgets to be fun. I think that Transcending Obscurity is keeping their kill streak going for bangers this year, Swelling Repulsion’s Fatally Misguided being only the latest.
(3.5 / 5)
