One of the longest running bands in the Spain death metal scene, Avulsed may not necessarily be as prolific as say Cannibal Corpse or Unleashed – but it never diminishes the quality product consumers have enjoyed through the decades. Phoenix Cryptobiosis is the eighth full-length, coming nine years after Deathgeneration – although a live album, a series of singles and a boxed set kept interest in the group during the interim. A new lineup shakes things up for mainstay vocalist Dave Rotten and recent recruit drummer Santi ‘GoG’, as last year saw three members step down due to lack of interest. To say this is a pivotal change is an understatement – but have no fear, you can still expect the quintet live for quality death metal songwriting sure to lacerate limbs in its savage approach.
The guitar team of Victor Dws and Alejandro Lobo possess a multitude of strengths when it comes to main rhythms, dual guitar nuances, and transition abilities that keep your interest. Occasional dissonant chord progressions sit next to mid-tempo deadly passages, making the adrenaline-fueled “Lacerate to Dominate” as well as the twisted title track early favorites – the former cut also featuring some outer limits bass phrasing from Alex Nihil that builds tension in the exotic atmosphere of its instrumental sequences. D-beat drum rolls take “Devotion For Putrefaction” into a punk meets death template, Dave Rotten rapidly spewing his verbal atrocity in his lower growl mannerisms, much like classic Cannibal Corpse or Suffocation, the lead work a seamless blend of arpeggio speed picking next to some slower, bluesy phrases. Injecting slightly melodic touches or consistently switching up tempos in the construction of these songs takes tracks like “Dismembered” and “Unrotted” into that upper echelon territory, the ideal diversity necessary to maintain full interest from front to back on this record. Most will appreciate the nod to thrash mavens Slayer in the opening guitar chords for “Bio-Cadaver”, Dave once again switching between his lower growls and more of a rabid screaming context to convey the urgency in the music.
All who enjoy death metal, especially the roots of this movement, will have no problem devouring Phoenix Cryptobiosis. Let’s hope that with this new lineup now in place, we don’t have to wait another nine years to be ripped to shreds through Avulsed’s songwriting.