POST MORTAL POSSESSION: “CATCOMBS OF BEDLAM”

 

(Here, Vonlughlio reviews and recommends the new album by Pittsburgh’s Post Mortal Possession, which was released on May 30 of this year.)

This time around I have the opportunity to talk about the band Post Mortal Possession, who first gained my attention back in 2018 with their debut album Perpetual Descent released by Lord of the Sick Recordings.  Before that I had no idea of this project and their previous EP’s released in 2014 and 2016, but the debut album was a great balance between tech and BDM elements, and the varied vocals patterns stood out for me a well.

Since I was not familiar with their EP’s, I decided to listen to them. They had a different vocalist for those releases, and I must say that the music was nothing groundbreaking, but nonetheless good stuff which  showcased the musicians’ amazing potential (the vocals were kind of a hit-or-miss with me, depending of the songs).

 

 

After the release of their second EP in 2016, they changed vocalists, and that is when Jake “Munson” Nelson took over the position. This turned out to be a great move, and the debut album is a full demonstration of how good a choice he was.

As I always say, “The music and the vocals have to complement each other,” and this is a good example. As I listened to Perpetual Descent they took it up a notch music-wise, creating a manifestation of BDM with tech elements that flourished over the 11 tracks, with vocals that took the music to a new level of diversity. The natural production also gave independent life to each of the instruments.  This proved to be one of my favorite releases of 2018 and made me a fan right away.

So, moving into 2020 and their label Lord of the Sick announced the release of their sophomore effort entitled Catacombs of Bedlam. The cover art is stylistically different from their debut, suggesting the music would be more BDM-oriented. It was released in May, and ohh boy, was that guess right — the music is more straightforward and less technical, but with the same natural production.

These guys just outdid themselves and they have found their own signature sound.  The riffs (handled by Jake McMullen and Brian Cremeens) are the cutting powerhouse force that drives the 8 songs telling a story of insanity, mental disease, and hopelessness. Drummer Nick Bentzel and bassist Tim Mitelman are a great pair on this record, bringing their impressive talents into the fold. And vocalist Munson again does an amazing job and is one of the highlights of the album, delivering gutturals and screams in varied patterns that add further savage life to all the tracks.

Overall, this is a great effort that every BDM fan should check out and pick up if they can. I loved it from start to finish. The only gripe for me is that it isn’t longer, but there are no fillers here, just pure wrecking force to be reckoned with.

BANDCAMP:
https://postmortalpossession666.bandcamp.com/

FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/postmortalpossession