Review Summary: Let the filling of worms commence.
Ever since punk rock and heavy metal began their twisted journey into extremes, Japan has been a stomping ground for some of best and most interesting bands, from those that worship to those that innovate. Corrupted, who hail from Osaka, are the most respected doom metal band to come out of the region, and for good reason; in the past decade they have released a steady stream of harrowing sludge, taking part in splits with other legendary groups such as Grief, Noothgrush, and Discordance Axis. They are also notable for their mostly-Spanish lyrics and unwillingness to do interviews or press photography.
Corrupted's first full-length,
Paso Inferior, consisted of a single forty minute track; however, they up the ante with
Llenandose de Gusanos, which spreads across two discs and just as many hours. "Sangre/Humanos" begins with stark, meandering piano and is eventually accompanied by an obscured spoken word passage. After seventeen minutes, the band ruptures like a tsunami in slow motion; the instrumentation is funereal in approach, with waves of claustrophobic guitar chords being accented by typically sparse drumming all fans of the genre have come to love. Hevi's vocals are gut-wrenching, as if he was being tortured during the recording. Describing the latter half of the song as dirge-like would be an understatement.
Disc two consists solely of "El Mundo," a seventy minute, minimal ambient piece. Although one would expect the song to become tedious, it slowly develops and changes mood, contrasting the static, vitriolic anger present on "Humanos". The synthesizer sounds are otherwordly and similar to those of Paysage d'Hiver; both deep and higher tones resonate in a strangely glacial reverb. Corrupted are one of the few metal bands that can successfully combine such elements with such crusty, often sickeningly heavy metal. Their next album would even include an all-acoustic song, but that is for another day. All of this makes
Llenandose de Gusanos a wonderfully entrancing and captivating listen. Those who lack the attention span, be forewarned.
