Engulf : "the Dying Planet Weeps"

This is Engul's first full-length. The solo project of Hal Microutsicos, who also plays in Blasphemous. The opening track benefits from a dissonant throb, rather than following the course most death metal takes in pummelling you with a head-first assault. My only trepidation going into this album would be the fact drums are programmed, rather than having a human behind the kit. However, technology is now at a place for better or for worse, where it is hard to pick this out unless your ears focus on the drums, and then the double bass is a little sterile in its precision. In this more technical style of death metal, many drummers use triggers to achieve the rapid-fire double kick feel so it is forgivable. 

Kevin Muller from Alluvial lends his snarl to the second song. But I really would not be able to pick his growl out from a line-up, it reminds me of Steve Tucker. The vocals are not the only Morbid Angel-like element as the pitch-bended squeals Trey is known for also scream out of the dense chugging. Though if you are playing death metal you can not be faulted for having Morbid Angel as an influence, in fact, it's more of an asset. Sven from Aborted proves to have a more distinct rasp to his voice, as it is obvious someone else has stepped up to the mic when his voice appears on "The Nefarious Hive". The project steers clear of using apparent formulas in their songwriting, even when delving into sonic areas that are fatal to the flesh. 

Mood and atmosphere prove to be one of Hal's strengths, as these provide a wonderful counterpoint to the massive crushing riffage that dominates the song's landscape on "Ominous Grandeur". The riffs uncoil with a serpentine slither, as the melodies coat the proceedings in darkness. Fans of 90s death metal will appreciate the direction this album goes in, even though the sounds used to craft these songs are not attempts to recapture the feel of the era in any manner of retro homage.  By the time we come to "Lunar Scourage" things are being dialed in with a more overbearing ear for perfection, that finds the instrumentation in such a tight lockstep that some of the mood is lost in the more machine-like feel this execution brings. 

Pat Bonvin from Near Death Condition contributes a guitar solo to "Plagued Oblivion". As far as these kinds of guitar embellishments go, it finds the most effective blend of chaos and melody, but more importantly steers clear of masturbatory excess by serving the song. "Earthbore" erupts from a more thoughtful intro. Enrico from Hideous Divinity lends his growl to the song, which proves him to have a voice that is more faceless than other guttural utterances unleashed on this album so far. This is a common problem for many death metal vocalists, who adhere too closely to the expectations of a genre, where vocals are all too often an obligatory afterthought, rather than a vital element to the song.  

The title track that closes the album allows the guitars to linger long enough for a mood to be established rather than rushing to steamroller you with their chugs. They linger so much that the dynamic range of the song is somewhat limited to hovering around melodic theme, to create what feels more like an outro than a song that measures up to the others.  I will give this one a 9 they used mood to hook me into the song, and tapped into a darker place than most death metal of this kind. A step up for Everlasting Spew who is releasing this beast.  

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