Album art still matters, even in an age when physical editions have been significantly supplanted by downloads, as compared to even five years ago. They create mental associations with the music that often become lasting memories, especially when the art and the music are both excellent — and go hand-in-hand in creating a particular kind of impression.
Tony Koehl’s artwork for the new album, La Fosa Comun, by the death metal band Hideous Rebirth from Riverside, California, is undeniably eye-catching, and it also suits the music quite well. But you can judge that for yourselves, because we have a song for you, a track from the album named “Haunting Carnal Illusions“.
La Fosa Comun is the band’s second album, and reflects a few line-up alterations since the last release. As described by guitarist/vocalist Erick Gutierrez:
“The writing process took quite a long time; beginning in late 2013. The recording process for the album took several months too. It’s not often we can get together but we made the best of everything when we could.
“It was extremely fun working with our friend Arturo Acosta over at Dark Cauldron Recordings. We brought back my vocals to help balance the lineup changes. We tracked drums with scratch guitars, in the beginning, knocking them out in a couple days, then moved on with 2 different guitars.”
Erick adds, “La Fosa Comun can be best described as 12 tracks of lore, conjuration, and ritualistic brutality. So much of us went into this album and we can’t wait for you all to listen.”
The previous single that debuted from this album — “Desecrating Seance” (which you can also check out below) — is undeniably brutal and dark. As you listen to the gruesome monster vocals and the thundering riffs, the head-snapping snare rhythms and freakish, spectral wails and echoing shrieks generated by the lead guitar, you can easily imagine a vortex of souls plummeting into the maw of a death void. Meanwhile, as your brain is conjuring visions, the song will very effectively batter and eviscerate in lethal fashion. If this is a seance, it is a deadly one.
As for the song we’re bringing you today, bassist/backing vocalist Cris Gutierrez tells us:
“‘Haunting…‘ is about a violent sexual encounter through the eyes of an incubus. While under sleep paralysis the victim perceives this as an illusion and gains a sense of pleasure… This song represents the apparition finding ‘a perfect vessel’ to inject itself into in order to be reborn. This ties well into the albums concept as well as the band name.
“On this track Erick (guitarist/vocalist) took over on main vocal. When I took over on bass, there were a lot of parts I couldn’t play while doing vocals so we decided to split duties which gave us more of a ‘full’ sound.”
The reverberating acoustic notes at the beginning of the song may catch you by surprise. They are sort of like the sound of a haunted seduction, which fits the song’s lyrical subject matter. But the violence does erupt soon enough, in a full-bore onslaught of brute-force, skull-cracking hammer blows and insectile fretwork mania. The snare cracks go off like gun shots, the riffing turns into a jackhammering jab-fest, and the vocal tandem of barbaric growls and volcanic howls enhance the atmosphere of possession and mayhem.
La Fosa Comun was once again mixed and mastered by Justin Loomis at TNS Audio Mastering, and it includes a guest appearance by Frank Zelada (ex-Euphoric Defilement, Ossification, Siderate).
The album will be released on October 27 by Gore House Productions (CD and digital) and can be pre-ordered via the link below.
Pre-Order:
http://www.gorehouseproductions.com/hideous-rebirth
Hideous Rebirth:
https://www.instagram.com/hideousrebirth
https://www.facebook.com/HideousRebirth
TRACK LIST:
1. Orgy of Souls
2. Obscured in Blood
3. Haunting Carnal Illusions
4. Ab Insidiis Diaboli
5. Desecration Seance
6. Incandescent
7. Condemned to Silence
8. Flames of Passage
9. Pervasion of Impurity
10. A Shadowing Menace
11. La Fosa Comun
12. Ominous Transcendence