I’m stoked to bring you a look at the review for the upcoming split EP with Fumigation and The Path To R’lyeh.
FUMIGATION
Mat Desjardins (drums)
Jay Donnelly (vox)
Tom Hansen (guitar)
Chris Humeniuk (bass)
Matt MacIvor (guitar)
The first four songs of the EP are Fumigation. This is them at their most gruesome and organic sounding yet. The approach to this EP was much more old school and gives a vibe of walking through an abandoned house that is covered in mold and cobwebs, to open up a cupboard and it be filled with a massive next of spiders.
The EP starts out with a grim build up into a cool heavy dissonant riff which transitions into a nice head-bangable verse that uses some of the same chords. The chorus is faster and has an enjoyable fast riff with more dissonant chords at the tail. I like how the theme of the first song seems to end riffs with a similar feel, but not the same part. There are some brief slams and more verses which flow well. They even make the main verse riff groovier which has a nice effect at one point. After the next chorus is goes to a series of wicked riffs that are made for a circle pit! The song continues to finish strong with sweet riffs and angry vocals. Their half of the EP continues to utilize some catchy tremolo riffs and lots of catchy Old School, bouncy but somewhat Thrashy riffs too. A Beard Full Of Maggots is full of exciting riffs and slows to a slower almost Death/Doom part near the end which is killer for a brutal and slow headbang.
The bass begins to stand out much much more in the second song, Forced Vaginal Harbourage. He weaves in and out of the riffs and the riffs themselves are more melodic as well and quite catchy, as well as pretty progressive in the intro. Near the end of the song the bass has some more sweet low but bouncy lines. Through most of the music, the bass is mixed in, making the tone nice and thick. It is audible but he only steps out of the rest of the arrangement occasionally. The parts all fit the songs and the low clunky tone sounds sweet.
You won’t really hear much blast beats in Fumigation at all. They have more Groovy and Old School vibes, especially in the drumming. There is some blasting in Forced Vaginal Harbourage. Aside from not utilizing much blasting the beats do fit, and there is some very consistent double kick. I like the organic sounding mix on the kicks and cymbals as well. Whole kit really. It has nice panning as well in the mix. Earwigs & Earwax has ripping double kick and super-fast tremolo riffs most of the time after an awesome and nostalgic King Of The Hill intro clip, perfect for the bands theme, featuring Dale Gribble leaving an angry and deranged exterminator phone message.
The vocals are also pretty old school in a good way. They have a low mid bellowy shout tone that almost reminds me of Psycrpotic but heavier at times. The vocals can also get pretty guttural at times and occasionally use semi high accents. While the vocals on this EP do not have the same badass powerful crisp low that their previous full length had, it is more comparable to the transition that Bloodbath went through vocally. This being a more putrid, organic and raw sound with plenty of passion. There are quite some brutal moments in Earwigs & Earwax, as well as some of the more “shouty” parts. It is a great and diverse performance. They are a unique tone that is hard for me to describe, and at times remind me of Deathgrind. The “shoutyness” that is incorporated almost reminds me of what could be the beginnings of those ‘hallowed priest shouts’ that Zombiefication and Apocrophex and Hour Of Penance use sometimes. It sounds kind of agonized and desperate. I like it. One other neat thing that adds to the vocal diversity is that each song has some guest vocals. Which becomes more apparent and distinct with more listens.
The second half is The Path to R’lyeh. This is their debut release and a rather impressive one at that. While none of them are brand new to the genre or scene either, they are still relatively unknown. They play an aggressive and technical Lovecraftian worship themed Death Metal and they have a pretty refreshing sound.
THE PATH TO R’LYEH
Alain Cloutier (guitar/bass)
Milann Vaidya (drums)
Yan Chatel (vocals)
Jonathan Lattimore Desabrais (guitar)
It starts with a cool groovy slam with a blast and pauses before coming in full force with heavy blasting, cool tremolo riffing and powerful vocals. After they change heavy riffs a few times they go to a more almost atmospheric part with more prominent and great bass, vocals come in and they continue to fluently turn it into a sweet techy verse with equally prominent bass and guitar. I must say I really like this riff. They go back into the slam from the start with the blast. He goes on the mix up the cymbal work and it is really enjoyable. They then go to another fast but slightly “slammy” riff into a heavy ass slam with ripping double kick and pretty brutal but not overly guttural vocals.
The next song comes in with a catchy kind of Melodic Death style Thrashy riff. The vocals in this song switch depending on the verse, from a more love mid ranged bark to a wicked cool low tone to semi guttural and guttural at times. The vocals start to stand out more to me at the 1:10 mark when they change riffs and he goes lower. It is a very cool tone and I feel that it hits a bit harder than the more mid range tone, which is still a good one.
The following song starts out fast and strong, opening with a quick drum fill into furious riffs and drums and powerful low vocals. This is the first demonstration of highs in the album and it may catch some off guard. They are a rather blackened sounding shriek that has a piercing and agonizing pitch. Once you get used to them they are pretty badass, but definitely sound a bit unexpected almost every time. It almost reminds me of the ‘pterodactyl scream’ from Unhuman. The vocals and drums are totally furious in this song and they have some cool Origin-esque moments.
The final song starts with a super-fast riff with some quick gallops thrown in and techy fills. The drums are ripping the whole time with nice switching up on the cymbals quite often. The cymbal work right around the middle is totally excellent. The vocals are powerful and pretty brutal at times. Near the end of this song there is several sick groovy riffs that are really well executed.
This is a cool split EP of two bands that are different enough yet familiar enough to totally work and be enjoyable as one full listen. Their songs are quick and hard hitting. These bands managed to write some catchy songs, without any solos whatsoever. Proving that good songwriting really does topple over all. Though, I do love me a good solo. I would love to see the addition of tastefully placed solos into these bands music down the road. Perhaps that is not what they are going for, but here and there to mix it up like that is great in my opinion. Go pre-order the album now, it drops next Friday!
For fans of Skinless, Gorguts, Obituary, Cephalic Carnage, Bloodbath, Immolation, Konkeror
For fans of Origin, Demented, Cognitive, Brain Drill, Abysmal Dawn
9.1/10 \m/
LINKS
https://www.facebook.com/Fumigation-137024276331132/
https://www.facebook.com/PathToRlyeh/
http://www.cdnrecords.com/product/fumigationthe-path-to-rlyeh-invasion-split-cd-pre-order/
https://fumigationmetal.bandcamp.com/
https://thepathtorlyeh.bandcamp.com/releases
“Your Death Metal Pest Control Specialists” www.fumigationmetal.com fumigationmetal@gmail.com
Path To R’lyeh
path.to.rlyeh@gmail.com
Check it out below
-Brett /,,/(°o°)/,,/
Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/
http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com
The Metal Breakdown 