Although they formed in 2010, it has taken fourteen long years for Putrified to release their debut album. Granted, the intervening years found the band dropping two demo tapes and two EP’s, but the lack of a long player in their discography means that Death Darkness Decay comes heavily laden with expectation. An album is a far different beast than an EP, so I was intrigued to see how the band would utilise the extra time the album affords, and the answer is very well; Death Darkness Decay is a record that flows exceptionally and should garner the band some global attention.
Opening with some retro organ (the type you’d expect to hear emanating from a haunted chapel), first track ‘Ab Initio / Malevolent Benevolence’ creates a real sense of time and place; it’s a siren’s call or a warning to the curious (take your pick) that beckons the listener with a crooked finger, enticing us with an unusual tone, but be warned; once you are inside the band’s world they shut the gate behind you with an extremely heavy riff. It’s the kind of riff that’s the stuff of Tony Iommi’s dreams (nightmares?) and drags itself along like a wounded Golem. Bringing to mind classic Candlemass (Epicus Doomicus Metallicus), it’s weighty and oppressive, but when the rest of the band kick in, this could only be Putrified. It’s a song of several suites that’s stitched together by its own eclecticism, and the tapestry the band weave is thick and lustrous. Mastered by Dan Lowndes (of Cruciamentum), he’s afforded the band a wide, cavernous sound that’s hidden lots of treasure deep in the mix and, barely audible, these gems feed into your subconscious subliminally. Subsequently, this is the kind of album that’ll reward repeat spins as those hidden elements slowly reveal themselves.
For Death Darkness Decay, it is as if the band have invented their own genre, it’s an admixture of doom, death and thrash, and this album will appeal equally to fans of all three, or anybody who like their music with plenty of blood and guts. It is a fusion of styles that gives the band a lot of musical freedom and they utilise the characteristics of all three to create an atmospheric sound, and one that towers over the listener like a huge brutalist structure. Such is the enormity of ‘Intermisso / Vermin’ that you have no option but to stand awestruck at its base. It’s a musical steamroller sent to crush all in its path, and like a deer caught in headlights, you have no option but to remain statuesque as it approaches. The band deal in the heavy stuff, and they don’t come more humongous than the epic closing track, which makes for a truly terrifying listen, which is exactly where we came in.
Almost a decade-and-a-half in the making, Death Darkness Decay was certainly worth the wait, but hopefully we won’t have to wait fourteen years for its follow-up!
- Death Darkness Decay is released via Godz Ov War Productions and is available now (from here).
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Track List:
- Ab Initio / Malevolent Benevolence
- Locust Temple
- The Sphere Of Man
- Intermissio / Vermin
- Son Of Perdition
- J1:12 / Må Döden Skona Oss Från Livet / Consummatum Est
