ALBUM REVIEW: Pissgrave – Malignant Worthlessness

Philadelphia Death Metal barbarians Pissgrave are back with the third instalment in their full length trilogy of depravity. Out via Profound Lore Records on February 21st.

Blasting cacophonies of insane drumming and equally tormenting riffs contort into their sadistic existence with no warning or mercy. Although grinding malignantly, there is a catchiness to the riffs which sucks you in as the inhuman vocals spew lethal venom into your ears. The utterly relentless perversion that is Pissgrave is clearly back on top form with another hostile release, from its onset this record proves to be a tough but satisfying listen. Convulsing with a putrescent rage, each progression feels like a step further into some rusted abattoir of horrors that once lost in; you will remain. Starting with an explosion of bestial might and triumphing domination of the listener, we can only wonder where this cut of chaos will go next…

Lurching forward, each song lumbers into life in a way that somehow drags like a hammer on the floor while casting a storm of rusted blades through the air like a swarm of locusts. The bludgeoning rhythmic onslaught and claustrophobic guitars work tremendously together in creating a savage listening experience that to most will inflict pain, but a freakish few will enjoy these delightfully depraved pieces of fetid butchery. Enjoying such a record when it feels like being strangled with barbed wire may be an odd thing in the human psyche, and yet I’m having a wonderful time being battered into oblivion by an onslaught of morbid malevolence that is performed so wickedly.

More than ever, Pissgrave have included some really strong and memorable moments that give a sort of foundation to their bestial noise. This is not to say they have tamed their sound, rather strengthened their performances. Still retaining that hellish and unpleasant odour of a crime scene discovered too late, the ever-flowing stream of viscera is tied together by a sludge of groove-laden moments that twist like a drill through the cranium until you involuntarily move your neck to the spasming cacophony of disgust. With touches of thrash and grind in a macabre Death Metal display, the band knows speed, but also how to utilise these grandiose dynamics that feel like the most unpleasant cinematic experience. A gore-soaked tapestry of excellence.

An exercise in audible atrocities like no other. Much like their other works; Pissgrave’s new record is a storm of sadist savagery that knows no mercy and gives you no quarter. Executing with militant precision, the blend of grinding Death Metal punches with fatal forces then infects the wounded corpse with every rotten substance imaginable. These songs make up an album of abhorrently disfigured proportions that will certainly leave an impact on you both mentally and physically if you dare listen to such a disdainful opus. Enjoy being sonically amputated, you sick freak!