There are some styles of metal that I just don’t find myself enjoying as much as I’d like no matter how much I try to expand my tastes as much as I can while being honest. One such style is easily the realm of brutal death metal or slam or whatever the hell you want to call it now. It always seems like I’d be more than interested in the extreme form of heaviness that would only leave prisoners alive to only torture them further. It’s been a hot minute since I found myself in the style, and I figured what better album to reintroduce me to the style than the return of Devourment?

Even for someone like me, Devourment is a name that I’ve come to know and greatly respect for their contributions to the chaotic realm of brutal death. They’re a group that I’ve had a little bit of exposure to but never found myself really enjoying at the moment, but the last attempt at that for me was however many years ago at this point so I’m far from overdue for a quick reinvestigation. Right off the bat, “Obscene Majesty” felt like an entirely different beast from what I heard before and is the first record of the style that I found myself unconditionally enjoying in far too long to where I’ve been on a mild binge ever since finishing the album for the tenth time a few hours ago. Everything about what Devourment has brought to the table here is nothing new to what we’ve seen in the genre before, but there’s an exceptional infectious nature to the intensity of “Obscene Majesty” that enables the album to become much more enjoyable. It’s the subtle melodies mixed with the unwavering intensity and acidic nature of the vocals that make the ten tracks of this behemoth an experience that’s as scathing as it is satisfying in the most fucked up of ways.

There’s a maniacal nature to this album that never once relents to give the record the most aggressive take on the genre that I’ve enjoyed, and that’s saying something given just the idea of the style itself. Being far from an expert on any things related to this style, it’s clear to me that Devourment has crafted something that is not only the very definition of brutality but a work that I will constantly come back to when I want my skin melted off in no less than the most exemplary of fashion.

“Obscene Majesty” releases on August 16th via Relapse Records!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Obscene Majesty” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Devourment on Facebook here.

FOLLOW Devourment on Twitter: @DevourmentBand