When it’s done right, music can be something that’s recycled over and over again with loads of entertainment still to be had so long as the concepts and material are given to the right hands who know how to treat it all properly. That’s a persistent theme throughout every given style of music that has ever come to pass with metal far from the exception with loads of acts constantly coming out of the woodwork trying their best to perpetuate a given sound with few able to deliver. For death metal, it only takes a little bit of searching to find those able to do it and do it right. In the case of Putrified, it’s a real no-brainer.
While I’ve always been a fan of music and acts that come around to challenge the listener and provide us with a sound that we haven’t really heard elsewhere, there’s always more than enough room for those that manage to keep things straightforward, efficient, and outright deadly in its effectiveness. That’s something death metal has always excelled at even as we find ourselves swamped in tens of thousands of names in an underground labyrinth that can oftentimes feel like a snake eating its own tail. In some instances, the material is lacking, but in other moments like what we have here with Putrified, death metal is given the respect and mentality that it deserves to flourish unfettered in its most effective forms. Unyielding in its goal of ultimate decimation with naught but pulverized bone left on the battlefield where the agonizing screams of the dead still ring, “Death Darkness Decay” is as death metal as death metal comes with the riffs, homicidal tendencies, and unending aggression to match. Putrified knows exactly what it wants to be as all the typical qualities of death metal are constantly being marked off in each song as though you were going down a list of what’s needed for a well-rounded experience. That can make some songs feel a little clunky at times, but Putrified manages to ensure that “Death Darkness Decay” as a whole is not a weak effort that can barely withstand a stiff breeze. Rather, through clear adoration of the very roots of the style and more than enough competency to perpetuate it all in high reverence, Putrified manages to show us what it means to offer the highest form of flattery in way of imitation with the path all but clear for Putrified to make their sound their own in the future.
There’s always something to be said for those that don’t rock the boat too much and are able to simply keep things moving forward when it comes to the centric foundations of the style at hand. Bands like Putrified are what keep the underground populated and moving forward with works like “Death Darkness Decay” always a worthy entry to continuously show us just how much glory there’s still to be had in death metal. Nothing new is brought to the table here, but Putrified puts their best foot forward to make for a powerful performance that’s beginning to become the foundations of a future offensive.
“Death Darkness Decay” releases on May 10th via Godz ov War Productions!
LISTEN to an advanced track from “Death Darkness Decay” on Bandcamp here, or via YouTube below.
LIKE Putrified on Facebook here.
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