ALBUM REVIEW: Slimelord – Chytridiomycosis Relinquished

British swamp-lurking Death-Doom Metallers SLIMELORD finally give us their debut album after some killer EP’s. Set for release via 20 Buck Spin on March 8th.

Estranged, gargantuan Death Metal takes its formless stride from the abyss. Slimelord have not only refined their swirling murk but injected it with even more otherworldly progressions. Akin to several band members other band Cryptic Shift, there is some dissonant Voivodian insanity creeping in this time around. The lurking vocals and drudging guitar riffs with crisp drum recording have a sinuous texture as stringy tendrils reach out to you. Booming with reverb and giving a very chasmic sound, this album has the art and production to match the musical finesse while retaining all of the grotesqueries this sonic punishment can deliver. Spasming with putridity as they spawn the cosmic swamps with their soundscapes, each unexpected twist inhumanly drags us down eldritch passages darker than the last. An unmistakably sepulchral stench emanates around this unusual recording yet it does not rely on the usual tropes of many contemporary Death Metal artists. Indeed this thing feels archaic and mysterious yet futuristic and unearthly. A baffling yet fantastic juxtaposition that renders a truly fascinating result if these early moments are a hint to what we are in for.

Descending into either further depths, or propelling into further reaches, I cannot be sure. Either way, the unhinged departures from predictability while remaining ultimately true to form are spectacular. Inspired lead guitars and eerie riffs culminate in a luxurious mixture of disgust and interest. Drums remain consistently tight but varied in texture and the low end is equally fluid. The entire band move separately without stepping on each-other’s toes, yet in a manner that feels conjoined and coherent. The guttural vocal delivery and layer of slime across the whole tonality of the instruments certainly ties things together. As do those gloomy, swaying atmospherics. Although full of ambience, a feeling of purpose remains throughout. This aids the meandering oddities of the record to not lose the momentum or impact of those more savage passages. This concoction certainly feels magnificently crafted and comes together gloriously, yet naturally in all of its organically spewed morbidity.

With gut-wrenching tonality and whiplash hooks, there is something so percussive and affecting about the rhythms of this album. They tap into this primal spirit before propagating the spores of swamp-ridden alien life from within the human vessel they take over. Ingesting this record is a truly rewarding experience that warrants repeating as a result. Ridden with a miasmatic ichor, Slimelord takes what they did on the EP’s to a logical conclusion, making a debut album that is genuinely such a pleasure to witness. The growth has been steady and all-the-more valid as a result, the proof being in this monolithic offering. Until its viscous conclusion “Chytridiomycosis Relinquished” will leave your jaw agape at its rancid resplendence. Forging the two strengths of uniqueness and old school loyalty in near-perfect harmony, this is the ultimate in innovation that doesn’t abandoned being a real Death Metal record. A pulsating mass of macabre and deformed energies that seeps into the veins every time you will encounter it. And if you are anything like me, it shall be more than once because there is so much to rejoice about on this album, so relinquish control of the senses and let it possess you.

A tomb-splitting opus of slimy tendrilous Death Metal excellence. Cranium-bending oddities and primitive swamp-lurking combine forces to grant a fetid out-of-body experience. With utterly mesmerising musicianship, a flawless production and stunning artwork to convey their best material to date; Slimelord gave us a wonderful debut album. Graven, otherworldly, malignant and warped are but a few adjectives that loosely summarise this cerebral, charnel journey. I suggest you simply embark upon it for yourself…