Despite their on-again, off-again presence throughout the years, Pyrexia was never really able to achieve the level of success as their NYDM peers Suffocation and Immolation. Enter Feast of Inequity, the band’s fourth album in a span of over 20 years, which employs not one, but two former/current members of Suffocation on the drum kit (Doug Bohn, Dave Culross) in their latest attempt to solidify their place at the NYDM legends table.
With their humble beginnings sticking strictly to the Effigy of the Forgotten formula, 1997’s System of the Animal established the base of their sound, diversifying them with a tinge of hardcore and more of an emphasis on groove. Much of this still continues on Feast of Inequity, albeit as a much more fine-tuned machine. Pyrexia never really feel the need to rip through songs at mach speeds, instead choosing to bludgeon the listener with a barrage of heavy, groovy riffs that mostly hit the spot. You’d be hard-pressed to find a groovier time this year than tracks like “Cocoon of Shame”, “Infliction”, or “Thy Minion” but the back-end of the disc loses some steam until “The Feast” comes in with a bang to close things out on a high note.
While the bulk of Feast of Inequity is rock solid, some filler tracks on a merely 30-minute experience keep it from reaching it’s full potential. Pyrexia have shown they can continue to weather the storm over the years with quality material, but their masterpiece still seems to stay one album ahead of them.