Cosmic Putrefaction – Crepuscular Dirge for the Blessed Ones
Release Date: 6th May 2022
Label: Profound Lore Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal
FFO: Blood Incantation, Spectral Voice, Tomb Mold, Demilich.
Review By: Rick Farley
Cosmic Putrefaction is a one-man celestial Death Metal force. Based out of Milan, Italy, multi-instrumentalist and sole mastermind Gabriele Garmaglia is set to release his third sonic opus, Crepuscular Dirge for the Blessed Ones on the excellent label Profound Lore Records. The theme or narrative started on previous album The Horizons Towards Which Splendour Withers, continues here, where the only survivor from an apocalyptic annihilation of a dying planet walks towards its withered horizons. Only to find the character discovering an even more sorrowful truth at the end of his journey. I unfortunately do not have the lyrics handy, otherwise I would be able to comment more. However, the sci-fi theme and experimental Death Metal always seem to go together extremely well.
Crepuscular Dirge for the Blessed Ones at its roots is very much a cavernous Death Metal album with a focus on heavy and hooky riffs, much in the vein of Incantation or Tomb Mold. Any other comparisons end at simply the feel of the riffs. The rest of Cosmic Putrefaction’s overall musical influences are a tough one to pin down to naming just one or two. There’s a slight underlying Black Metal influence with lots of tremolo picking and use of astral projected atmospheres full of thick, dense but structured chaos. A chasm full of traditional OSDM riffs reconfigured with unusual chords, unsettling melodies and layers of symphonic ambience add tinges of dissonance but remain fluid and easy to digest within its immense soundscape. Everything flows with the ease of molten liquid traveling downward through cracks towards a dark abyss. To have everything so interwoven and tense, and still have lots of room for everything to breathe, is a testament to its creator’s songwriting.
Amongst the warped, eerie celestial melodies lies some grisly ferocity. A sundry of choppy and meaty hooks drive everything forward into a frenzy of Death Metal brutality. The core churning of the guitars accentuates every other aspect of the record. The expansive suffocating atmosphere of orchestral synths, otherworldly melodies, twisting time signatures and jarring transitions all seems to head back to those memorable hooks of slithering guitars and crushing bass. The records vast dynamic range stands as the album’s greatest strength. The duality of stunning textures and sheer aggressiveness is complex in its rhythmic simplicity. Aside from the final two tracks, one being extremely dissonant with contorted atonal passages and the other being very airy with heavy use of synths and open chorded resonation, the album is very rhythmic in feel. The fierce Death metal riffs with snarling teeth are of great significance on this record. Namely, in its focus and vision, it’s what brings everything together in a cohesive but very turbulent way.
Further compounding the albums crushingly heavy nature are the drums. Handled by drummer Giulio Galati (Hideous Divinity) he brings insane technicality and pummelling groove to the record. Blasting, fast double bass, odd time signatures and crazy fills all emphasize the ferocious dynamics of each song. The vocals, though a little quiet in the mix, are coarse and midrange. Thick growls are sometimes followed with a blackened, raspy scream. Occasionally, some choral cleans and whispery passages enhance small parts of a few songs. There’s a lot of personality is his voice that brings an added sinister dimension to the already punishing environment. Production wise, there’s a muddiness and grittiness present that doesn’t detract from the clarity too much. For the most part, it sounds organic, but can get a little lost during the most disharmonious parts. I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily a bad thing here, but it’s worth mentioning. The album feels progressive and technical enough to please that crowd, but also enough classic cacophonous Death Metal stomp to get your blood really pumping. For this to be the vision of one man and executed by him alone minus the session drums is quite the impressive feat. Seriously worth your time. 
(4 / 5)
