I namedropped the new Lord Mantis record in my Coffinworm review, so I figured I should probably say a few words about it. Oppressive, abrasive, blacked sludge. There.
Oh, so you were expecting more than a few words? Opener “Body Choke” sounds like Neurosis set to super-slow-mo, a disturbing dash of death-doom that’ll haunt you in your dreams. The title track is more black-metal sounding, with a bevy of blastbeats beneath some satanic screeches and tremolo-picked grimness, though they still deliver the occasional doomy downstroke. The beginning of “Negative Birth” is as doomy as it gets, a lumbering, menacing wrecking-ball riff with a cymbal-heavy backbeat that gradually gains speed until it reaches whiplash-inducing levels. Throw in some ghastly post-industrial whispers, at least one eerie instrumental interlude and an epic 10-minute closing track… not to mention the strangulated trans woman on the cover. Nothing pretty about this one, folks.
RATING: 6.66
