ALBUM REVIEW: Superstition – The Anatomy Of Unholy Transformation

Here I review the debut full length album of US Death Metallers SUPERSTITION following a couple of successful demos. Due for release via 20 Buck Spin on June 21st.

1. Unholy Transformation Pt. I opens with creepy Horror movie styled sound effect, building a tense atmosphere with well-timed drum hits, led in by feedback there is a doomy series of snarls. This unholy sounding introduction was a blasphemous and evil way to set the mood. I enjoyed how simplistic, stripped back but also really effective this introduction was. Very nicely done.

2. Highly Attuned Beasts Of The Dark thunders in with pounding drums and intense grooving riffs with blackened vocal howls, there is no messing around, we are just fired into barbaric, savage extremities just how Death Metal should be. Convulsing with disdain and with fantastic songwriting allowing for a meaty backdrop to the grisly vocals, this is some tight material that packs a punch while also having some great subtle atmospheric flares. There is some gorgeously drawn out melodies and speedy shreds to break up the rhythms which sound killer while the main grind of the song remains unrelenting. An aggressively impressive piece.

3. Spiritual Sunderance falls in by bludgeoning us again. Ferocious riffs, gnarly production and snap-neck drums surge out pure morbid ecstasy alongside the sparsely growled vocals which creates a haunting, odious and grim soundscape filled with all the cascading, putrid nuances we all love in Death Metal. Monstrously forceful momentum and a total disregard for anything other than total brutality allow this piece of music to just rip faces off with groove and melody alike. There are some really stunning mid-tempo riffs and intricate drum fills that are incredibly catchy, these will worm their way into your brains until you submit to this menacing piece. Brilliant.

4. Unholy Transformation Pt. II utilises 80s Horror synths to give respite from the savagery, adding atmospheric and foreboding tension in this sequel to the introduction. The short piece certainly adding a transcendence and lightening touch to the album while not holding back the brutality for too long.

5. Passage Of Nullification grinds out more menacing and brooding riffs with impactful drums, the whole instrumental sections seeming to converge with blistering spite. The pace falls into more dungeon-dwelling tremolo riffs and blastbeats that have a cavernous and impenetrably dark sound, fuelled by totally insane instrumental work and hideously violent snarls. There is a really lively feeling to this music, truly seeming to grow in its mould-ridden soundscapes in a very natural manner, nothing forced or pretentious. The skull cracking guitar leads were piercing and soared through the rhythms whilst leaving the blundering impact of the full band to continue storming out total frenzy. Excellent.

6. Torn In The Outer Lands picks things up with more surging, violent instrumentals, following the previous track with a really natural flow. There is certainly a consistent sound on this release, given the murky production, hammering drums and use of very grisly guitar riffs that maintain a similar ripping effect, all the while accompanied by tortuous vocal snarls given at appropriate intervals. The lead work blisters out some nice melodic shreds but the stampeding force of the whole band on this track refuses to bow down, blundering through more crushing Death Metal. The more speedy sections within the riffs really do add something special that the band clearly have adopted as their sound. Great stuff.

7. Unreclaimed Blood (Phantom Swarm) drops us into darkened realms once again with some slightly more technical guitar rhythms, dissonant leads and punchy drums before savage snarled vocals complete the mix. This track has some really different, more experimental twists that set it apart from the others. Something about the attitude and rawly maniacal songwriting have quite a Black Metal feel to them that is unique and thoroughly enjoyable. There is a natural growth in the heinously heavy attacks of the piece which for me, along with their killer musicianship, couples to make the best song of the album. A truly anthemic and disastrously decimating piece of total insanity with some nice punky rhythms near the end. Beautifully diverse and a notably more original piece, fantastic work!

8. Unholy Transformation Pt. III is the third and final part of the “Unholy Transformation” trilogy. Once more using Sci-Fi / Horror synth work, this time with quite a tranquil feel that still remains foreboding, I am really enjoying how they used these three tracks to space out the album and tie things together. A really cool idea that definitely pays off when the album is (as albums should be) listened to as a whole.

9. Charnel Pleasures closes the album, let’s hope they do it with the same level of savagery as they have maintained thus far. Blasting in with more life than ever and ferocious riffs punishing us in conjunction with the pounding drums, the stakes are high. The relentless aggression of the instruments with some totally astounding vocal work makes for a obliterating, dense and well formatted final song. Mesmerisingly dark, rich with grooves and intensely chaotic, I cannot flaw this closing track, which is a definitive second favourite for me. Something I think is great about this final song is that it feels like they just wanted to cram in all their remaining ideas but in a way that doesn’t seem forced or overly-ambitious, just a final epic piece of gloriously dark Death Metal with some 80s style galloping riffs adding another strange yet loveable variation to the bands sound. Totally killer.

Fans of blisteringly morbid Death Metal along the lines of label-mates Ossuarium will certainly enjoy this festering album of diversely brutal extremity. An indulgent release for fans of true, broodingly heinous Death Metal barbarity. Sure there is a lot of bands with very similar sounds used, but for those who dig it (like myself), there is no complaining. -7.5/10