Agnostic - Morbid Embracement
Agnostic hail from the relatively unknown area of Guwahatim, India, a place where one wouldn't really expect a young and upcoming Death Metal band to emerge from. Their debut album 'Morbid Embracement' is hard, yet groovy collection of music that will remind fans of mid era Cannibal Corpse, early Six Feet Under, and also a bit of Unleashed with the way the vocals switch between the fast growls and slow, almost spoken word snarls to match the melodies of some of the tracks. Tracks like the opening "Psychotic Mission Of Death" just pile drive with the riffs over and over with a steady background of drumming as the vocals roar along. It's Agnostic at some of their heaviest but at the same time can sound a bit dry because it doesn't really introduce much to change the formula of the genre overall, so it is more than likely that listeners will have heard a track like this before from another band or two. And no doubt the themes of the album when considering something like "Maggot Infest" will bring up a question in fans' minds just how unique Agnostic can be when it seems like they could just be another Torture Killer, etc.
Tracks like "Submerge In Gore" vary up the pace here and there and inject a little more melody so it doesn't just feel like direct chugging all the way through. It is still heavy and nowhere close to letting things calm down, but listeners will be able to tell when the solos are more than just someone trying to play as fast as possible and there seems like some actual thought went behind the songwriting. "Morbid Embracement" is an excellent groove infused track that involves a stomping rhythm with some repetition, but it is welcome repetition as the band throws in these two very strong melody lines that bounce off each other and suit the music very well, rather than standing out but not meshing in with the rest of the track overall depsite being unique. The production really helps as well allowing everything to be heard clearly, rather than sticking to a thick, murky old school sound that populated many 90s Death Metal artists. Perhaps the most stand out track is the closing "Beneath The Frozen Depths" with its softer touch where the band trades all heaviness for melody. Even the vocals, usually in their snarling element, opt for some croaky spoken word sections that help enhance the song's one time stance amongst the others. It is pieces like this that will allow listeners to take notice of Angostic's presence, so hopefully in future works they will do more like this to help them rise from the relatively average status that their debut puts them at on an overall level. It's good Death Metal, but not fantastic.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/v/EOOMEkmJJpA[/embed]
Tracks like "Submerge In Gore" vary up the pace here and there and inject a little more melody so it doesn't just feel like direct chugging all the way through. It is still heavy and nowhere close to letting things calm down, but listeners will be able to tell when the solos are more than just someone trying to play as fast as possible and there seems like some actual thought went behind the songwriting. "Morbid Embracement" is an excellent groove infused track that involves a stomping rhythm with some repetition, but it is welcome repetition as the band throws in these two very strong melody lines that bounce off each other and suit the music very well, rather than standing out but not meshing in with the rest of the track overall depsite being unique. The production really helps as well allowing everything to be heard clearly, rather than sticking to a thick, murky old school sound that populated many 90s Death Metal artists. Perhaps the most stand out track is the closing "Beneath The Frozen Depths" with its softer touch where the band trades all heaviness for melody. Even the vocals, usually in their snarling element, opt for some croaky spoken word sections that help enhance the song's one time stance amongst the others. It is pieces like this that will allow listeners to take notice of Angostic's presence, so hopefully in future works they will do more like this to help them rise from the relatively average status that their debut puts them at on an overall level. It's good Death Metal, but not fantastic.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/v/EOOMEkmJJpA[/embed]
- Psychotic Mission Of Death
- One Final Mutilation
- Submerge In Gore
- Acrisia
- Morbid Embracement
- Blood Ridden Epitaph
- Maggot Infest
- Beneath The Frozen Depths
Self released
Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Jul 5, 2012
Jul 5, 2012
Next review:
Darkness By Oath – Near Death Experience
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