(written by Islander)
Before anyone in the public at large heard a note, it was predictable that the new album by Glorious Depravity would get lots of attention. First and foremast, there’s the band’s lineup, which includes members of Pyrrhon, Gravesend, Woe, Scarcity, and more. And then… well hell… look at that extraordinary cover painting by Dan Seagrave. If you’re a fan of extreme metal, it’s damned tough to see that and not want to hear what’s inside.
The new album, Death Never Sleeps, isn’t this band’s first strike. They launched that with their Ageless Violence debut album on Translation Loss almost five years ago, and the solid strength of that one provided yet another reason to expect the new one would seize attention. This time around, the attention is even more well-deserved because the band have stepped up their game in multiple ways.
There’s commanding proof of Glorious Depravity‘s advancement in the two songs from the new album that have debuted so far, and we have further proof in our premiere today of a third one — “Necrobotic Enslavement“.
Glorious Depravity play death metal, but true to their name, it’s gloriously depraved. The song you’re about to hear opens with steady, gun-shot drums and riffing that’s both menacingly brutish and viciously feverish, causing the music to both lurch and spasm. Much like that experience, Doug Moore‘s guttural roars and rabid howls are monstrous.
Eventually, the drums bolt into a hammering gallop and those insectile fretwork convulsions take over, creating a swarming and darting frenzy of sound, an expression of rapidly writhing and skittering madness that grows increasingly berserk, reaching its zenith when Moore expels a scream that seems like it might never end.
The fleet-fingered riffing also rises in range, manifesting a bright and bizarre delirium in contrast with the enormous undulations of the bass and the roaring vocals far below. It’s an exhilarating thing to hear, made even more thrilling by the hard-slugging and fast-firing drumwork.
On the one hand, the instrumental performances are technically impressive and impressively integrated and controlled. On the other hand, despite that evident precision the music does indeed sound depraved. To put a finer point on it, at least for this listener it kindles visions of the frantic machinations of some alien race with a hive mind. (The song also happens to be fiendishly addictive too.)
GLORIOUS DEPRAVITY is:
Doug Moore (Pyrrhon, Scarcity, Seputus) – Vocals
Matt Mewton (Woe) – Guitars
George Paul (Gravesend) – Guitars
John McKinney (Woe) – Bass
Chris Grigg (Woe) – Drums
Death Never Sleeps was recorded and mixed by Joe Cincotta (Suffocation, Obituary) at Full Force Recording, and it was mastered by Ryan Williams (The Black Dahlia Murder). They and the band did great work on the sound production. As the label says, the music is “clear, resonant, and robust.”
The album will be released on November 7th by Transcending Obscurity Records, which is offering it (as usual) in a multitude of formats and with a multitude of connected apparel and other merchandise. They recommend it for fans of Cannibal Corpse, Monstrosity, Vader, Deicide, Sinister, Decapitated, and Power Trip.
Check the links below for details, and check out the two previously released songs we’ve installed after the links, “Slaughter the Gerontocrats” and “The Devouring Dust“.
PRE-ORDER:
https://gloriousdepravity-label.bandcamp.com/album/death-never-sleeps
https://ampwall.com/a/transcendingobscurity/album/death-never-sleeps
http://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/
http://eu.tometal.com/
GLORIOUS DEPRAVITY:
https://facebook.com/gloriousdepravity