Review Summary: Please welcome the grotesque newborn, preferably in Italian.
Whenever a grotesque new old-school death metal creature rises from a filthy swamp or dank cave somewhere, it is cause for celebration, as it gives me an excuse to once again dive into muddy waters and cover myself with sonic sludge. Sometimes, there's nothing like a nice dose of good old-fashioned predictability to get you in the right frame of mind. Something about Incantation-ish OSDM that puts me in a comatose state, away from the stresses of everyday life; in a bizarre plane of mental rest, half asleep half awake, on a voyage that is mine alone. Newborn Italian trio Claustrum, with their cavernous death doom formula, throws me right into that spot, where all the pseudo-intellectual bull*** is left behind, leaving only stimulation and the attraction for the aesthetic. Claustrum's 28-minute self-titled debut album (or extended EP, depending on how you look at it) has everything you'd expect from any OSDM recipe worthy of its name: churning, palm-muted power chords intertwine with tremolo picking in a dance that swings between slower, doom-laden passages and faster, more aggressive sections, layered, as it should be, by deep guttural vocals; all mixed by the wise hands of renowned Italian craftsman Gabriele Gramaglia (Cosmic Putrefaction, Vertebra Atlantis), who succeeds in enhancing
Claustrum's sinister, somewhat morbid atmosphere. 'Destined To Rot' and 'Zombi Rats', with its slow-paced Bolt Thrower-esque section and Immolation-ish ending, respectively, are the album's highlights, along with the cohesive overall cavernous ambiance that never dissipates. And while some sort of differentiating element, some kind of fingerprint, separating them from the rest of the cave-dwelling pack would be welcome, the Italian spelunkers succeeded in making themselves known for all the right reasons.
Benvenuti, ragazzi.
