Review Summary: There's beauty to be found in this chaotic, haunting debut.
At this point in time, a lot of musical acts are copying off of one another, whether intentionally or accidentally. Music has advanced so far that many different avenues have already been explored, leaving a smaller gap for originality. From a glance, The Zygoma Disposal’s inclusion on TotalDeathcore’s bandcamp is discouraging to core haters, but don’t be deceived; this Belgian quintet are talented, and have managed to pave their own path amidst a sea of traditional –core groups. Their debut, The Forgotten, takes you on a chaotic journey crafted by masterful guitar work and strong melodies.
The Zygoma Disposal waste no time establishing a special sound in the album’s first track.. “The Lost” is 3-minute-long jazz-like intro, with a beautiful piano melody leading the way and a trumpet providing support--a combo you don't witness every day on a metal album. It all gradually builds up, gripping the listener's attention, winding on towards the conclusion, where djent-like guitars burst in to accompany a frantic trumpet. This instantly transitions into "Minus Infinity", and right away one might be thinking about bands such as The Dillinger Escape Plan. Indeed, The Zygoma Disposal has Dillinger's signature pandemonium sound and quick riffs, but these boys do it in a different fashion. The Zygoma Disposal employs an even more hectic style, changing tempos and styles constantly throughout the duration of "Minus Infinity".
These two tracks already give you what The Forgotten has in store for you: impressive guitar work that is constantly morphing, generally in melodic parts, haunting, almost ambient-like parts, or assaulting you with rapid bursts of mathcore riffs; calculated, precise drumming; and interludes lush with jazz influence, as well as parts where the bass takes a moment to shine. The vocals can be a source of criticism for some, as the vocalist’s harsh style can be perceived as monotonous. However, within the mathcore commotion, his screams fit perfectly. A curious thing one might find in this record are a few clean parts, one of which is interestingly put towards the latter part of "Minus Infinity", having a haunting, distant, not-quite-pop-like vibe to them. They're either hit or miss here, though they work well with the song's tone.
After the delightful anarchy of "Minus Infinity", "Father Sodomy" slowly fades in with a deathcore-like intro. After a short low vocals part, the mathcore takes center stage once again, progressing the song through a generally slow-to-mid tempo. It's a heavier song, and is definitely a track that wouldn't look out of place on a deathcore compilation CD. It contains lower vocals and a breakdown or two. Compared to 6 minute-long "Minus Infinity", "Father Sodomy" feels like it runs in and out, hitting the listener like a punch to the gut (a pleasant one though).
"The Unseen" opens with another deathcore-like entrance following a brief, haunting sample--you can see by now these guys love to maintain a haunting atmosphere in their music. It's a small interlude with deathcore-inspired riffs in place of the typical mathcore ones found on this record. It's nothing too noteworthy, and it only really serves as a bridge to track number 5, "Grim Haven". It reestablishes “Minus Infinity”‘s mathcore formula. However, The Zygoma Disposal keeps you interested all the way through, each guitar part holding you in place. This song showcases a reappearance of the piano and trumpet found on "The Lost", and has more bass breaks. It's one of the standout tracks on the album, and it definitely showcases the band at its best. They pull out all of the stops here, with math and deathcore and jazz intertwined beautifully in a mass of chaotic beauty. And just when a small break in the bedlam appears, another mathcore part kills it and rampages onward. This song notably features the only other clean part, and it goes along particularly well with a bass-driven melodic part in the song, and they don't overstay their welcome or sound uncomfortable.
"The Unknown" serves as yet another instrumental break, but once again it progresses in a different manner than its predecessors. In fact, it abandons the traditional sound and comes across as a much more somber sound. A sample leads into quiet guitars with symbol drumming gradually building up into bursts of djent guitars. A synth provides background atmosphere, but is careful to not overwhelm the guitars, which are slowly moving through a dismal melody. It sounds rather foreboding. It terminates with the entrance of track 7, “Black Lung”.
Here again the vocalist employs a much lower register, and the guitars launch out of the gate with the mathcore riffing. Some dreaded techdeath ‘dweedily-doos” are present (more so than usual), but fear not: they aren’t central to the song at all, but add to it. Oddly enough, this song is much more deathcore and less mathcore than any other of the non-instrumentals on this album. Of course, there are still changes--including a brief drum solo--but the song generally follows a similar pattern all the way through, focusing more on a melody that goes off of “The Unknown”‘s foreboding tone. The end of the song has a particular melodeath-like riff that hasn’t been seen before. Afterwards, a space-themed synth breaks in, alone with an Egyptian-sounding vocalist singing in the distance. It’s somewhat odd, along with the rest of the song; it fits in the album, but isn’t something you’d expect from it.
“Like Diamonds”, the penultimate track, sounds much like precursor “Black Lung”. Unlike other songs, it chugs along more like a downtempo band mixed with djent and deathcore riffs. The mathcore, it seems, takes a backseat during the end of the album. It does show up, but the majority of the song can be perceived as a chug festival. The song still packs a punch and has the melodic backing guitar parts this album features, but with a more haunting vibe that a deathcore or downtempo band would employ.
The final track, “The Alone”, is a highlight of the album based on just how different and unexpected it is. After “Like Diamonds” quickly fades out, completely-instrumental “The Alone” slowly moves forward, the guitars, bass and the piano (it’s back!) progress slowly as though brooding a loss--a sound that goes well with the album’s overall tone and the song’s individual title. A quiet synth accompanies and becomes more prevalent as the song moves onward, becoming louder along with a more central guitar melody and thundering drums. It’s like the instruments are crying, mourning for a terrible occurrence. Not the most interesting track, but a fitting end to the haunting, ambient, gloomy world of The Forgotten.
Altogether, the 38-minute long album is an adventure through anger, chaos, and eventual loss. The amount of energy pushed forth by the instruments is impressive for a debut. You can really sense the eagerness of the group to showcase their best as quickly as possible, and overall they succeeded. There’s a lot to love on this album, no matter what your preference is. It has the complexity and unpredictability of mathcore, plus the riffs, chugs, and occasional breakdowns of deathcore, coupled with downtempo chugs and djent parts, and finally some progressive metal tempo changes and instrumentals. The instrumental tracks also breathe fresh air into the music.
The biggest complaint about The Forgotten is its central element: the mathcore. At times, it comes across as trying much too hard to break out and be unique. The songs become messier instead of pleasantly chaotic, and the music breaks and changes so much that not a single coherent structure can be found. Perhaps that’s exactly what The Zygoma Disposal were going for, and unfortunately it’s what makes them either original or despised. The out-of-control nature of the music can annoy listeners. For others, the complexity should compensate for the untidiness. Final track “The Alone” could be viewed as a letdown rather than a proper send-off. Then there is the vocalist, who seems to carry the least amount of energy out of the whole cast of players with a rather static style that doesn't fluctuate often or at all.
After experiencing the album a few times, such flaws can either become more amplified or overlooked. In general, The Zygoma Disposal provide the heavy metal audience with something that isn’t very common to the typical person. It’s something new, fresh, and invigorating to listen too. Considering it’s a debut, it leaves you waiting for more. This is a notable debut that gives The Zygoma Disposal the tough task of having to top it or replicate it. Uniting infectious energy and charming mayhem, The Forgotten is an album that brings a lot to the table every time you listen to it.
