Epidemic Scorn - Destrumanity

Face stomping death metal is what one gets when hearing the 6th album from Germany’s Epidemic Scorn, “Destrumanity.” A mix of mid paced to slow death metal similar to that of Kataklysm meets early Insomnium. There is a lot of melody involved among the heaviness such as on the track ‘The Day After Tomorrow.’ Then there are the more straightforward chug fests like ‘Spartacus’ with a mix of guttural growls, snarls, and some spoken word elements. The guitarwork is always the focus though with its rather technical touches and with the anthemic pound of the drums behind them it is a sheer force of unstoppable power. ‘Born to Die’ and ‘Manson’ showcase some of the slower moments from Epidemic Scorn with the simple song structure but more variety in vocals and a rather haunting atmosphere, especially on ‘Manson.’ Between the softer moments and spoken samples there is plenty of foreboding wait before the songs explodes again.

For Kataklysm fans the riffs coming out of ‘Spate of Hate’ is just for them. Melodic and still heavy the chugs drive the song but the guitars are layered enough in it to add plenty of groove to make it an upbeat hit and still very anthemic. ‘Permanent Record’ is a bit faster and shows no holds barred as Epidemic Scorn blast their way through. For more good melodeath moments ‘Death is Just Good Enough’ hits hard enough with some fantastic guitar solos before closing on the heavy, but anthemic ‘This Means War.’ Overall, for blastbeats and Cannibal Corpse or Aborted style death metal, this might not be for listeners. But those who like melodic infused death metal that features limited clean vocals, discernable harsh bellows and snarls, anthemic pounding, and excellent guitar moments, then “Destrumanity” is worth checking out.

3.5 / 5 STARS