Forever Below is what I’m going to (cheesily) call old-school grit with new-school wit. The chilling tone of the guitars, the spidery, urgent riffing, the howling vocals, the thrashy tempos, pull from the best of second-wave black and blackened thrash–think Dissection and Goatwhore. But the intelligently dynamic and melodically-developed compositions pull this base sound into the modern world, and deepen their impact. Touchstones in this regard fall closer to Úlfúð, Gaerea, and the affiliated Windfaerer. The fusion of these approaches is evident the moment opener “Deeper Hell” charges out of the gate with gnarly, lurching tremolos and d-beats, until the final layered wails of “Meslamtea” fade out over whistling wind. Forever Below is equal parts fun, furious, and fetching, and has no trouble keeping you hooked and howling along with its snappy 34-minute runtime.
The key to success here is balance, achieved by a fluidly shifting but consistently fierce musical approach to black(ened death) metal. Rhythm plays a huge role, not just in leading the offense with galloping (“Void Within,” “Carved in Fog,” “Efface”), d-beating (“Deeper Hell,” “Void Within”) or generally blastbeating tempos, but in its flexibility that keeps up a persistently compelling groove. Oscillating between the above speeds, and stop-starting into sways (“Hydrohammer”), marches (“Carved in Fog,” “Efface”), and the dramatically doomy (“Meslamtea”), drummer Justin Spaeth ties it together with elastic, satisfying rollovers throughout that lend liveliness to music in a genre not necessarily known for dynamism. In similar fashion, vocals span an effective range that shows off Michael Gonçalves’ varied experience in extreme metal styles. His main vicious snarls frequently dip down into menacing growls (“Deeper Hell,” “Hydrohammer,” “Stillness”) and leap up into pained wails (“Void Within,” “Carved in Fog,” “Meslamtea”), with the latter providing some gleefully evil high points. Guitar melodies strike elegant equilibrium between malevolent coarseness and melancholic urgency, providing washes and builds of melancholia (“Stillness,” “Efface,” “Meslamtea”) just as powerfully as biting barrages of bellicose riffery (“Deeper Hell,” “Carved in Fog”). All this makes for an engaging, electrifying listen.
The more I listen to Forever Below, the less I find to complain about. Adding to the above list of factors that make Putrascension’s overall sound as likable as it is, is its general presence. There’s a subtle atmosphere brought about by layered whispered (“Stillness”) and wailed (“Meslamtea”) vocals, reverberating chords (“Void Within,” “Carved in Fog”), and touches of synth (“Stillness,” “Meslamtea”) and heightened by a spacious and clear production. But while sounding great, and being enjoyable to listen to, Forever Below feels naggingly like the kind of album that may not have long-term sticking power. This could be down to the fact that its vim and vigor nonetheless doesn’t add up to anything dramatically unique in the genre space; despite it all, much actually isn’t especially memorable. On the other hand, distinctiveness doesn’t solely depend on innovation, and the amount of fun I’ve had relistening supports the idea that Putrascension do have something special.
Whether you go for the bombastic, brutal, or blazing with your black metal, Forever Below probably caters to you. Polished and precise, yet vicious and violent, and pleasingly melodic too, it’s pretty much the full package for fans of the trve style. Putrascension have fully entered the scene, and they’ve made quite the entrance.
Rating: Very Good
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Horror Pain Gore Death Productions
Websites: putrascension.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/putrascension
Releases Worldwide: October 6th, 2023
