Noisem
Blossoming Decay

Release Date: 2015 | Tracklist

Throwbacks can be a tricky thing sometimes for a band aiming for that sort of thing especially in extreme metal. On one hand the band going that direction can take that sound and combine elements of what they like from it with good songwriting and it make into something really good. On the other hand that band could want to recreate that feeling that music from the past created and try a little too hard with it. With Noisem's 2013 debut, Agony Defined, the band sat in the middle of both while also at the same time being as young as they were at the time still figuring out who they were not only as a band but as individual musicians as well. Now that's not to say "Agony Defined" was a bad or a mediocre release by any means. It showed great talent from a group of very young people who had a bright future within underground extreme music were they combined great musicianship with the elements of Possessed era death metal with a hint of "Heartwork" era Carcass along with Slayer "Reign In Blood" era sounds. It was all good but by the end of it you were left wondering were could these guys go from here after this? Well fast forward two years and we now have "Blossoming Decay" their second Lp and it comes from a much more fierce place showcasing their growth.

Though elements of their debut are still here Noisem most definitely amps it up and shows their teeth more with this release bringing more of a grind and death metal approach to the table. Production has been one upped as well as the guitars sound a lot more heavier and the drums are a bit more clear as well.The one major improvement in Noisem's sound now has to be in the vocals of Tyler Carnes. He's a lot more energetic and fierce than on the first release and he rips throughout the Lp like a mad man. While tracks like the opening song "Trials of Perturbation" or "Burning" still have that throwback feel to them they place a bit more blast beats and more frantic riffing. "1132" and "Graining Enamel" are examples of Nosiem proving they aren't just some run of the mill throwback band and that's all they know how to play with tracks like these having more of a death metal and grind influence. Noisem also prove they can work outside the fifty second or one minute song structure and adventure into more ambitious territories with songs like "Cascade of Scars" and "Blossoming The Web" hitting the four and five minute marks with ambient songs and slower tempos laced into the abrasiveness and chaos of the latter half of these two songs.

For the average listeners or even the ones who are more familiar with Noisem's music the subtle changes in which the band has incorporated into their music this time around may not be that evident to them on first or second listen but they are very much there. Although they may not be the most experimental changes or the most drastic ones Noisem do prove themselves to be more than just a one trick pony with "Blossoming Decay" frantically bouncing between the sounds or their first record while also moving forward and showing the other growth and influences of more extreme bands of past and present. Will this change the opinions of those who liked or disliked Noisem's first album? Yes and no. For the ones who didn't like them because they may or may not have thought they worshipped too much at the altar of their influences may be pleasantly surprised by this Lp while the ones who did like it will more than likely degrade this. And that's ok this album (or even the band in general too) isn't here for that it's here to say this is who we are and this is what we like.

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3.5 great