Pestifer - Expanding Oblivion
Third official album for Pestifer, Belgian band active since 2004. This "Expanding Oblivion" comes about 6 years after the previous work, quite a long time for a young band like them.
Before getting an idea of this album, I had to listen many and many times all the tracks contained on it. "Expanding Oblivion" is not an album of easy description and assimilation because there are many influences that characterize the sound of this band.
The problem, maybe, is that there are so many influences and it's very hard to find space for all of them. Here we are talking about death, thrash, jazz, technical death, classical influences... all conceived with very old school references and with a production that sincerely fails to emphasize the final product.
Let's be clear, we're not talking about a bad album. Contrariwise, Pestifer really know how to do it and they have to be recognized for having created an album in which they probably put what they really wanted to achieve, without having to lower themselves to follow the mass and the trends of the moment.
Indeed, in their bio, Pestifer write that they stand out with their special and unique brand of death metal that combines genuine vibe and a particular approach on the production and way of playing. Nothing more true than this.
'The Remedy' opens the album in a very direct way, and they do it with clear references to bands like Beyond Creation and similar. Technical death played in a very personal way with a maniacal search to find one's own personality. The following 'Ominous Wanderers' retraces what the four guys decided to do in this work. Taking a personal way and a personal path without being obsessed from external references or comparisons.
There aren't in these 11 songs (with various instrumental interludes) any particular and significant emphasis to bring out one song rather than another. The level is structured in the same way on average and at the end, unfortunately, makes the work quite flat. Well but not very well.
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Before getting an idea of this album, I had to listen many and many times all the tracks contained on it. "Expanding Oblivion" is not an album of easy description and assimilation because there are many influences that characterize the sound of this band.
The problem, maybe, is that there are so many influences and it's very hard to find space for all of them. Here we are talking about death, thrash, jazz, technical death, classical influences... all conceived with very old school references and with a production that sincerely fails to emphasize the final product.
Let's be clear, we're not talking about a bad album. Contrariwise, Pestifer really know how to do it and they have to be recognized for having created an album in which they probably put what they really wanted to achieve, without having to lower themselves to follow the mass and the trends of the moment.
Indeed, in their bio, Pestifer write that they stand out with their special and unique brand of death metal that combines genuine vibe and a particular approach on the production and way of playing. Nothing more true than this.
'The Remedy' opens the album in a very direct way, and they do it with clear references to bands like Beyond Creation and similar. Technical death played in a very personal way with a maniacal search to find one's own personality. The following 'Ominous Wanderers' retraces what the four guys decided to do in this work. Taking a personal way and a personal path without being obsessed from external references or comparisons.
There aren't in these 11 songs (with various instrumental interludes) any particular and significant emphasis to bring out one song rather than another. The level is structured in the same way on average and at the end, unfortunately, makes the work quite flat. Well but not very well.
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1. The Remedy
2. Ominous Wanderers
3. Silent Spheres
4. Disembodied
5. Swallower Of Worlds
6. Fractal Sentinels
7. Grey Hosts
8. Lone Entity
9. Omniscient
10. Ultimate Confusions
11. Expanding Oblivion
2. Ominous Wanderers
3. Silent Spheres
4. Disembodied
5. Swallower Of Worlds
6. Fractal Sentinels
7. Grey Hosts
8. Lone Entity
9. Omniscient
10. Ultimate Confusions
11. Expanding Oblivion
