A new sound of Death rises in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is known for being a popular hard-working city, less on glamour and more on grit and determination to succeed . It’s cities like this that you find the finest metal bands. It’s twinned with Sheffield in the UK and there are certainly similarities. The “Steel City” tag just being one. There is a darkness about their music that is reflected in their surroundings and uncompromising attitude and energy. That said don’t expect the guys from Post Mortal Possession to act as tour guides if their EP, Possessing Entity, is anything to go by.
“The Harvest” kicks things off with a growling, snarling intent that continues unabated for the reminder of the EP. No stylistic turnings to be found here. This is straight down the line, but varied, old-fashioned if you will, approach to pure death metal fury. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, these days, it’s quite refreshing. If your idea of being refreshed is to be pummelled about the head endlessly for the best part of 25 minutes!!
The grooves and demonic beats are fully amped up on brilliantly blasphemous “Suspended By Nails”. A new addition to the “music to be crucified to” list. Just like the legendary anti-gods Deicide twenty five years ago PMP has no issue with declaring their stand on things rotten in the hypocritical religious world order.
There are plenty of different strands that make up each individual track which make them stand out from each other, not always an easy task in Death Metal. “Death March” comes across as a down-tuned and slowed-down Slayer without losing any intense fury or grinding brutality.
Vocally the range moves from guttural growls to piercing soul-emptying screams with ease and at the command of the ferocious rhythm section that pounds and rumbles with the power of a forthcoming storm. The guitars are often spiteful and provide a cutting edge to the dark and foreboding atmosphere.
“The Arrival” follows the traditional death metal trajectory with a technical sledge hammer-like dent in the side of the coffin of conformity. It displays what can be done in Death Metal without resorting to sub-genre interjections or appeasements.
If the EP closer “Visceral Butchery” sounded anything less than the title suggests then the disappointment would have been as crushing as the vice-like grip this band has on what 21st Century Death metal should sound like. The previous four tracks though will have taught us never to doubt and it’s a magnificent three minute decaying aural journey into the desperate depths of us feeble mortals.
If Possessing Entity is a sign of things to come of then we cannot say we were not warned.
Donnie’s Rating: 9/10
Tracklist
The Harvest
Suspended By Nails
Death March
The Arrival
Visceral Butchery
Line-Up
Eddie Gremba – Vocals
Nick Bentzel – Drums
Tim Church – Bass
Jake McMullen – Guitars
Brian Cremeens – Guitars
