Devourment - Obscene Majesty

Let me get this straight right from the start. My answer to the question "which is the most brutal record ever made?" is simple: "Devourment - Molesting The Decapitated". I think this album took brutality right at the peak. I recall all the nice memories when it was released and I even remember my surprise in listening Devourment for the first time. This album is still a tsunami in my ears and if you haven't listened to it, I urge you to!

I take pride in interviewing Devourment for the paper zine I was releasing back in early 00's named SEWER ZINE inbetween "Molesting The Decapitated" and "Butcher The Weak".

Time passed since those early days and although it's none of my business to judge the band's decisions, I was always expecting to get an album from them with the classic "Molesting The Decapitated" line up. So, I was more than enthusiastic when I learned that Ruben Rosas is back on vocals and Brad Fincher on drums! I was eager enough to check out the new Devourment material so I immediately tried to search for it on the net and could not resist but listen to the YouTube videos the band unleashed prior to releasing the album. After the first listen I fuckin' knew what to expect! All the original Devourment chemistry is back in "Obscene Majesty" and this makes it the comeback of the decade! I was more than excited when receiving "Obscene Majesty" for a review and I am proud that it 101% confirmed my first impression.

Devourment have always released decent albums, but with Ruben Rosas, the legendary "Molesting The Decapitated" singer in his physical position behind the mic and founding member Brad Fincher sitting behind the drum kit, the band reaches unearthly levels of extremity and brutality. These legends accompanied by Brad's bandmate in Meshiha (do yourself a favor and check' em out!) Dave Spencer on the bass and Chris Andrews who switched from bass to guitar have made the real deal! Devourment of 2019 have the closest possible to "Molesting The Decapitated" line-up! And this is news! For those of us who got to know the band from the demo days and listened to the most brutal album ever released on this planet "Molesting the Decapitated" when it was released, we have been expected for many years to get this record!

Devourment honor their legacy with "Obscene Majesty" and offer us a diamond in the diadem of the extreme sound. A diamond that can only be compared with albums like "Molesting The Decapitated". But let's get through it piece by piece:

The album begins with an industrial/noise intro long enough to set the listener in the right mood. At the right moment, when your brain is washed off thoughts and you expect the upcoming sickness, the first riffs of 'A Virulent Strain Of Retaliation' hit you. Ruben Rosas mighty vocals coming from the depths of the abyss flow through the speakers to destroy all human left. It has always felt injustice to see Ruben Rosas only handling the guitar duties (which he also did very well). However, in my opinion, Ruben Rosas is one of the most brutal throats ever alongside maybe the legends Joe Ptacek (Broken Hope), Frank Rini (Internal Bleeding) and Kevin Clark (Sintury).

Brad Fincher's drumming is insane! His performing style is the most personal you will come across and cannot be found in another band. Brad's drums are a war machine gun put straight into your face. The sickly distorted guitars play open chords more than in the past, resulting to a thick wall of sound. Nevertheless, the production is excellent, it leaves space for every instrument to breathe and everything is audible. The riffs may sound simple but they are not. Moreover they are cement thick and sickly executed in the style Devourment established. The bass fills when used are thicker than wet cement filling your lungs leaving you gasping for air.

'Cognitive Sedation Butchery' is another slap on your fuckin' face. The violence once again flows free from the speakers. When Ruben Rosas beats down his vocals, destructive feelings rise. The insanely fast drumming stops only for the sake of getting the groove right. I love the way Brad uses the cymbals! The snare is unbelievably thick and of mid/bass sound. The guitar twinkles are used for the benefit of the song. Beat downs are followed by grinding parts that will give work to the physiotherapists of your area. So damn neckbreaking!

On 'Narcissistic Paraphilia' the guitar tuning is of a lower than the ground level and once again brutality overflows. The cataclysmic riff work shall nail you to the wall. The changes with guitar parts of unmatched heaviness is of huge effectiveness. The innumerable rhythm changes won't distract you because everything flows just perfectly throughout the song that could be the soundtrack for a serial killer. The bass guitar passages are once again excellent. But above all, the ground is shaking every time Devourment decide to beat down. Their inner sense of how brutal death metal/slam should be performed is beyond words can possibly describe.

'Arterial Spray Patterns' is an orgasmic non-stop killing machine; an anthem for the sick and depraved. It is difficult to follow the grind parts of the song with your neck. The drums are insanely fast and the guitars sound like 3-4 riffs played at the same time without actual chords sound, but rather slidings on the guitar neck. Devourment give you mercy when the beat slows down. But again not for too much and not actual mercy because their beatdowns are a relentless rhythmical hell. I believe Devourment have their own type of metronome in their heads. But again the performance of the masters is more accurate than the metronome! Don't expect modern tricks here. Devourment are unbelievably good musicians and they play their music from heart and with the right and real feeling.

'Profane Contagion' double bass builds up the basis for the coming riff. The snare shoots at will against human life. The beat downs are sicker than sick and Rosas vokills over them beatdowns make them even sicker. After the grind part of the song the double bass fills a staccato riff and then back again to the whirlwind riffing. The song features the more intense beatdown of the album. Slams it to the max! TXDM to dig graveholes with.

'Dysmorphic Autophagia''s amazing groove and rhythm patterns along with razor sharp guitars really slice the brain. Devourment have mastered their style over the years. Thumbs up for Brad's drumming, possibly the most personal and characteristic drumming style in the scene. The basic riff's groove has a feeling that only in proto-slam albums can be found. This is stuff an open-minded hardcore fan would dig. However, this is not hardcore or deathcore. This is pure slamming Texas brutality!

The band don't limit their ideas and as a result some songs are short to 2-3 mins, while others like 'Sculpted In Tyranny' unfold to more than 6 mins length. Brad's double bass works again excellent here with the thick riffs. The hyperfast grinding part at around the 2nd minute of the song is inhuman! Brad shows his excellent physical condition, his undoubted talent and his magnificent skills and puts his name in my list of the best drummers ever. When guitar plays alone for few moments, you know what's up next. War! Devourment create soundtracks to their own apocalypse. The snare on the beat down is simply mythic. Brad's measures are unique. And the almost doom fade out grand finale of the song is absolutely epic making me wonder how would it be to see this live.

Thankfully enough the album is not finished yet.

'Xenoglossia' is an atomic bomb soon to explode in your hands. In its 2 and a half minutes of a hyperspeed Devourment song with seminar drumming and revengeful vocals, all the perversion, the unholiness, the obscenity and sickness the band stands for are present.

'Modum Sui Morte' is Latin for 'The Dead'. I am not sure of the key Devourment are actually tuned in, but their guitars are some of the heaviest you will get to listen. The whirlwind guitar turns to beatdown slam. The band seem to have worked a lot in their rehearsal room to practice this and get it right. This is not easy to perform! The way Ruben beats down his already low grunts is simply amazing. Another lesson in brutality given. Devourment get the groove right and deliver hell.

'Truculent Antipathy' is the name of your next brutal death metal band. The name itself is so brutal that you will choke to even pronounce it. Devourment close one of the best albums of the year, their 2nd best album in their career ("Molesting The Decapitated" can hardly be surpassed) and one of the most brutal albums ever released with a lesson in violence. Every wannabe slam band needs to study Devourment innovations. Murderous!

The production of "Obscene Majesty" is as it should be. Nothing more, nothing less. It is fresh and not nostalgic, but it keeps the old school feeling alive, keeps away from being polished, leaves "air" to the instruments to be heard obscene and sick and emphasizes in getting out a result of massive brutality, reminding me of the Corpse Gristle and early TXDM days. Respect! On more personal terms, the production of (and performance in) "Obscene Majesty" actually makes me want to destroy the house again, just like I did back in the days when "Molesting..." was out, when along with few pals we almost destroyed the house of a friend (Spanos R.I.P.) breaking doors and stuff while jamming the album along with other brutal masterpieces at our infamous Athenian Death Metal Parties. Lifetime memories!

Once you get into the album, you will love "Obscene Majesty" forever. It can only be compared with "Molesting The Decapitated" and this is an asset of the album. It is a record you cannot listen just one track. It is a record you need to listen in whole. And that's something I miss in today's productions/releases. That's how we learned to listen to music and I love to get this old feeling back. I am also more than pleased to see Ruben and Brad back in duty and hope to see them live in Greece anytime soon. The groove of Devourment will make your neck suffer and will give you the energy to move planets out of their orbit! I can assure you!

"Obscene Majesty" is a lesson in violence. It is definitely the comeback of the decade right from the first song! So fuckin' convincing! It's not for the weak at heart, not for weak ears, and definitely not for wannabe brutal metalheads, deathcore followers or slam posers. This is NECKBREAKING SUPREME TXDM BRUTALITY. FORGET YOUTUBE/MP3 SHIT. BUY THE ALBUM NOW AND SUPPORT DEVOURMENT OR ROT ETERNALLY REDUCED TO A MASS OF FLESH AND LIFELESS LIMBS.

The legends are back as they owed with a slap in our fuckin' face! Did I like their slap? I have already turned the other cheek! BUY OR DIE!

P.S. I would give it 6 stars, but I am limited to give 5.

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1. A Virulent Strain Of Retaliation
2. Cognitive Sedation Butchery
3. Narcissistic Paraphilia
4. Arterial Spray Patterns
5. Profane Contagion
6. Dysmorphic Autophagia
7. Sculpted In Tyranny
8. Xenoglossia
9. Modum Sui Morte
10. Truculent Antipathy