Analepsy – Quiescence
Release Date: 15th April 2022
Label: Miasma/Vomit Your Shirt
Bandcamp
Genre: Brutal Death Metal, Slam.
FFO: Vulvodynia, Ingested, Organectomy, Visceral Disgorge.
Review By: Rick Farley
Old School Brutal Death Metal with modern melodic elements, is how Analepsy is choosing to describe their music in the press release. Although the music is way much more than that, I would say that’s an accurate description in the most simplistic terms. Based out of Lisbon, Portugal, the band formed in 2013 after two of the members met during a Disgorge show. They’ve released an EP, a split with Kraanium and have a debut full length under their belts. Not to mention winning the Portuguese “W:O:A Metal Battle” which led to performing at Wacken Open Air 2017. A big deal for almost any band. Their first tour outside European borders was in Japan, where they performed as headliners in April 2019. That year also marked some changes that saw a couple long time members leaving the band. Now 2022 brings us the “way above the standard” release of Quiescence. An extremely catchy, brutal, melodic slab of slamming Death Metal that will surely catapult them to the very top of the heap.
The band’s name Analepsy pronounced “uh-nuh-leh-psy” was chosen originally due to its (now obsolete) meaning: recovery of strength after an illness. Which is fitting, after losing members, the band comes back even stronger and is about to release a monster of a sophomore record. A testimony to the band’s musical prowess, mature song-writing, and all-around chugging-based brutality. This is leagues above the typical release in this genre. This album has a more accessible sound without sacrificing any heaviness. It’s tight, crisp and relentlessly crushing. It grooves more than it slams, but all the elements are there. Harsh, guttural growls from the bowels of hell emanate inconceivable power. Tons of punishing breakdowns with guitar squeals, squawks and killer bass melodies. A relentless barrage of riffs, blast beats and demon like lows. Pig squeals, killer guitar solos, and brutal hooks are all audio equivalents of a cosmic explosion of gamma radiation from a collapsing star. Headbanging, a smashing of everything in sight, and severe danger of self-harm at every listen.
The song-writing on Quiescence is nothing short of phenomenal. Everything has a purposeful defined structure; every melody, riff and solo perfectly placed to serve the entirety of each song. Incredible individual performances from every member, reaching the pinnacle of sonic excellence. Better than the bands debut album in every single way, the leap of maturity between the two is astounding. All the important aspects of this genre are represented in a way that sets Analepsy apart from their peers.
Quiescence continues the space motif from the bands previous releases, but from a slightly different perspective. Thematically, this time around, there are no living beings, only the deserted cosmos awaiting its own demise. With titles like Locus of Dawning, Impending Subversion and Fractured Continuum, the band creates a conceptually fascinating atmosphere for the relentlessly piercing and crushing music. The cataclysmic effect on the vast macrocosm awaiting its extinction is a cool concept, and I’m looking forward to reading all the lyrics. Also on a side note, the album artwork is fucking killer.
The synergy between brutality, melody and accessibility is remarkable to the point where the balance lies within its entirety. As a whole, this album just works from beginning to end. Its repeatability is one of its strengths. It’s catchy and memorable, you’ll be jamming this for a very long time with barely an ounce of fatigue. A rare case where an album is purely enjoyable in every aspect. Aside from the short runtime of thirty-seven minutes and the closing instrumental that might have been better placed before a song as opposed to the end, I simply cannot find anything that important to critique. Great songs, great production, precise, heavy, catchy, brutal. To put it simply, this album is just fucking good. 
(4.5 / 5)
