Solifugia - Ageless Sadism

It has been almost over eight years, but Belgium’s Death Metal outfit known as Solifugia have returned since 2016 for a new EP to shake things up. Still rooted in the 90s Death Metal sound in the likes of a non-Thrash styled Vader, Torture Killer, and other mid paced churning acts like Morbid Angel,  this five piece still serve up some groove and riff focused music that isn’t quite the mosh pit thrashers like a band such as Obituary might crank out, but more the lulling headbang type that would suit the Melodeath crowd when it comes to the likes of Amorphis or Insomnium. However, Solifugia are far from that crowd despite a somewhat melodic approach to their music. Opening with the groove churning ‘Intro,’ the EP takes a different turn, luring listeners in versus just blasting right off with things concerning their earlier debut.

The sound is a little more guitar focused- which makes sense between both guitarists Bernard and Martin who deliver the riffs in a rather catchy style that is somewhat repetitive but has that likeable tone to it (like Satyricon does). Sometimes the music turns into a highly melodic solo such as on ‘All Spirits Enslaved’ but mostly it is just churning riffs, almost with a Sepultura touch to how they sound like on ‘Daybreak in Limbo.’ The bellow vocals from Peter sound like a cross between Vader and Cannibal Corpse as they are throaty and deep but discernible without being too guttural; think along the lines of a band like Unleashed. While in the past they felt front and center, they feel a little buried this time between all the instruments, which is nice to let bassist Johan flow along with the pounding drums from Edward not drowning him out. Usually the drums and vocals tend to take over in the Old School Death Metal formula with the fuzzy tone of the guitars and bass there for support, like for a band like Bloodbath, but here Solifugia show the time between records was to change things up a bit and not make a rehash of what they did before.

While this album doesn’t really elicit any frenzied response as the music tends to stay in slow to mid pace, some tracks like ‘Sadistic Absolution’ do offer increased pace, and the guitar solos are always energetic, but overall the EP just that every going nodding force, not showing the dizzying heights of technicality like Tech Death or that memorable harmonic guitar passage like that in Melodeath (save for on this track here). Indeed, for those who remember Paths of Possession which felt like Cannibal Corpse going partly Melodeath, the same feeling can be felt with where Solifugia is headed. The bounce between OSD, some sort of Death n’ Roll, and just straightforward Death Metal is consistent, but nothing quite ‘wowing’ yet. Fans will certainly be glad they are back though and new listeners will be attracted to the ‘windmill hair headbang incite’ of a track like ‘Innocence Slain 2023’ as it chugs along in drastic fashion, and while basic, will satisfy anyone who enjoys Death Metal in general for catchy riffs and harsh vocals before exploding into Heavy Metal styled solos for a little bit of flair. Hopefully future work from these Belgium guys will continue to be catchy as well as heavy.
 
3 / 5 STARS