ENTOMOPHTHORA – Instinctual Disease
Release Date: 22nd November 2024
Label: Soulseller Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal
FFO: Nothingness, Aborted, Bloodbath.
Review By: Andy Spoon
I’ll get straight to the point. I think that this might be one of the more interesting short DM albums of the year. I really got some strong vibes akin to bands like Nothingness or Bloodbath, which was really impressive. In my opinion, this is the state of the art as far as 2024 death metal goes – totally insane guitar work, ample and explosive vocals, and furious rhythm section all rolled up into one album that is nearly a bullseye for all my heartstrings.
It’s not just an album that celebrates a particular style or facet of death metal, but really captures multiple aspects of the entire scene, style, and appeal. These guys are clearly fans of the genre, not just visitors. There’s an overflow of older elements from the 90s death metal scene, particularly the European school. I think that the subtle homage to DM’s thrash origins is definitely present, something that really gives the album a feel that transcends “trendy” death metal acts, who are reliant on current trends, such as breakdowns or stylistic choices (you know who you are). I think that Instinctual Disease is really a great example of an album that was designed to transcend the death metal curtains of time, putting itself into a cadre of albums that are meant to
There are beautiful odes to other forms of death metal, ones which don’t tend to appeal to the fans of those genres, necessarily, but bring a small token of those subgenres to the surface for listeners to enjoy – such as blackened death, symphonic death and of course, old school death metal. It wouldn’t be fair to call Instinctual Disease a “blend” of those subgenres because it’s not. It’s a standalone album that features little nuggets of those genres for a few seconds, bars, or maybe just one song. There’s plenty of musical inspiration on the album to focus on the melodies in each track, as well, leaving listeners the opportunity to just kick back and enjoy the musicality and composition of the album as a whole. I was genuinely-impressed, as this is something that I’d come to expect from elite bands in the genre, but not something that I expected from a smaller release or a smaller project.
There should be no doubt that Entomophthora is legitimately part of the group of contemporary DM bands that needs to be heard to be understood. I really think that fans of Bloodbath and Aborted are going to adore this album, as it tends to push all of the same buttons that Aborted does, and in the best ways. There’s not any weird overriding theme or message that isn’t conveyed by the overall production – something that can sometime detract from the sonic attack of the music.
The album is on the shorter side, only having seven original audio tracks, one Sepultura cover and one theatrical (outro) track, which I didn’t really care for, honestly. Overall, I think that the entire production was just excellently done and could have used maybe one more track to make it feel like a “fuller” LP. I don’t usually ask for more music on an album, but there you go. I think that Entomophthora is absolutely, positively on the ball with a fully-fleshed-out and maximized death metal effort that had better be on your fall listening schedule if you consider yourself a fan of contemporary death metal. Instinctual Disease is set to be released on November 22nd on Soulseller Records.
(4.5 / 5)
