MORBIFIC Bloom of the Abnormal Flesh CD

Finnish death metal brutes Morbific are back with their third album of putrid tunes. Out on April 21st via Me Saco Un Ojo Records, Headsplit Records and Memento Mori.

Classic horror ambience starts out the record with that filthy spirit that the band is known for. The gargantuan guitars and bass groove into life, crawling forth like some kind of abhorrent septic deformity while the pounding drums bludgeon your skull. Instantly capturing the fetid atmosphere of the album, the vocals add just as much disgusting discharge as the macabre instrumentals. Putrescent in all facets and with some of the best mixing we have heard applied to the band so far, Morbific are due to deliver their most rotten album yet. Combining those eldritch doomy moments with avalanches of offal-drenched riffs, we can hear a bit of experimentation occurring while still remaining strictly filthy and never straying from the decayed path they have trodden from day one. I adored both of the bands previous outputs and I am extremely glad they have not lost their way nor fallen short of inspiration. “Bloom Of The Abnormal Flesh” is going to be one rancid ride…

Dripping grotesqueries trickle from each song; whether the band is going into blasting barbarity, slower tempo savagery or riding those mid-tempo grooves to the crypt. Each variant of violence and visceral torment is performed supremely and segues into the next with a cryptic smoothness like a freshly belt-sanded face. Exterminating all in their path with ruthless riffing and a strong odour of an ancient tomb opened for only the most perverse maniacs, Morbific feels more confident and refined than ever in their songwriting and production. Equally the artwork of this album, handled by Chase Slaker as always, is absolutely masterful and captures the mood of the music perfectly. Gloomy, spewing rottenness that reeks of vomit and decay. This is the complete vision of Morbific, taking the other two albums triumphs in its stride and adding a third full length monstrosity to the discography that stands out as a grandiosely gruesome offering totally worthy of following them.

Finland has always been a country that delivers high quality heavy metal in any subgenre. Morbific feels like a natural torchbearer for the new generation of death metal maniacs who are still firmly rooted in the true and untainted variant of the genre. A bit longer than the other albums, this new offering of opulent atrocities doesn’t feel bloated, but like the band has a bit more exploration in their songs while never failing to get to the point. At 45 minutes, there is plenty of killer material without wasting time or meandering off course. This also points to the band growing in confidence as musicians and songwriters; with an impressive variety of songs and dynamics for the style they choose that keeps you on your toes without ever relenting from the torturous beating that they so willingly give.

A gargantuan listen of morbid magnificence. Morbific is the ideal middle ground of grossness, extremity, groove and pure punishment that retains all of the necessary spirit and sound of death metal while having their own personality. With each consecutive album I am impressed with the legacy of lacerating music that these Finns are putting out. I have enjoyed all three for different reasons and this continues to be the case with “Bloom Of The Abnormal Flesh” a totally terrific album of cemetery-lurking delights.

Written for www.nattskog.wordpress.com