ALBUM REVIEW: Eternal Rot – Putridarium

Death-Doom Metal mob ETERNAL ROT are back with their second album. Set for release via Godz Ov War Productions on July 6th.

Noisy storm samples set our journey off with a morbid and brooding feel before guttural vocals, storming chugged riffs and hammering drums belt out a masterfully macabre Death-Doom soundscapes the pounds the skull to fragments. It is clear from early on this is going to be some hideously heavy material with tremolo picked riffs entwining in drawn out chords and tight drum work to underline every vicious note. The vocals are astonishingly dark with the gurgling growls sinking into the swampy instrumentals for maximum eeriness. Thunderous and bellowing with creepy energy, this record follows on from the excellent “Cadaverine” with just as much crushing brutality as we saw on that record.

Tomb-crawling grooves and barbaric breaks are used to create some fiercely slow Death Metal conjurations while occasionally picking up into an offal-raining swing that only adds to the infectious rhythmic surge of the album. Emanating from a primal approach, the music grows and warps into a groaning, charnel soundscape of doomy brilliance with gut-rupturing, low-end fuelled savagery. The doomy riffs are consistently punctuated by a forceful chugging that wrenches you out of your comfort zone with the unimaginable punch each chord and drum beat hits with, a perfect backdrop to the cavernous swirling murk of the vocals.

With a raw mix adding to the murky, mausoleum-dwelling feel of the record, there is no denying this is some pungent and devastating material to add to the flawlessly brutal discography of Eternal Rot. It is important to note that with this being their second album, they already have a very recognisable and memorable sound that I immediately could tell belonged to Eternal Rot, something that is not only impressive to achieve but so early in their career is mind-blowing. The slow tremolo-picked riffs and drawn out drum crawls give such a nasty and rancid sound between chugged, primal grooves that it is impossible not to be enticed by the morbidity on offer here. Though simple, the undeniable effectiveness will win over all Death-Doom lurkers who prefer things to be stripped back.

Eternal Rot have offered another dense record packed with concrete slab drums, malignantly rotted riffs and odiously bellowed growls. If you prefer Death-Doom to be utterly putrid and visceral while capturing the brooding atmospherics of Doom Metal in a far more ferocious cloak of monstrous riffing, then look no further. A marvellous follow up to “Cadaverine” that is certainly worth the attention of the underground. -8.5/10