Slow-moving death metal slugathon with heart and guts
Whenever a genre or style has a surge in popularity, the mediocre newly started bands start pouring forth like rednecks to a hoedown. But every wave has its own stars and shining gems as well, and Encephalopathy is one such gem.
The German band gravitates toward the part of slamming brutal death metal that crushes the life from your body - read that part as you want, lover or hater - with devastatingly heavy chugs, sluggish slam riffs and inhumanly regurgitated vocals. Frontman Matze competently and confidently lives up to the greatest vocalists of the genre with his wet-sounding exhales, the rest of the band following suit with a fitting instrumentation of crisp guitars and drums that live by the rule "don't play anything unless it's completely necessary".
The German band gravitates toward the part of slamming brutal death metal that crushes the life from your body - read that part as you want, lover or hater - with devastatingly heavy chugs, sluggish slam riffs and inhumanly regurgitated vocals. Frontman Matze competently and confidently lives up to the greatest vocalists of the genre with his wet-sounding exhales, the rest of the band following suit with a fitting instrumentation of crisp guitars and drums that live by the rule "don't play anything unless it's completely necessary".
"...they clearly have the chops to write captivating musical movements."
With chugs-a-plenty Encephalopathy is like an unstoppable train of low- and mid-tempoed brutal death metal. But as with any train it's just railroaded in one direction. Considering that the demo EP is rather short with just three tracks, you'd think they would've put in the effort to make a bit more varied. Encephalopathy have limited themselves to a small niche of death metal by doing little more than what is mandatory in terms of instrumentation and vocals, but they clearly have the chops to write captivating musical movements.
The 2011 Promo EP shows promise and a good sense of flow, and apart from a few bumps in the road their clear-cut blueprint works remarkably well. The band just doesn't ever well and truly exceed expectations with their material, and it's not just because "there's only so much you can do with brutal death metal". There is plenty of variety out there, but Encephalopathy apparently only subscribes to "Slow and Dangerous Monthly".
The 2011 Promo EP shows promise and a good sense of flow, and apart from a few bumps in the road their clear-cut blueprint works remarkably well. The band just doesn't ever well and truly exceed expectations with their material, and it's not just because "there's only so much you can do with brutal death metal". There is plenty of variety out there, but Encephalopathy apparently only subscribes to "Slow and Dangerous Monthly".
7/10
Released in 2011 independently
Links
Encephalopathy on FACEBOOK
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What did you think about Encephalopathy's "Promo EP 2011"?
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What did you think about Encephalopathy's "Promo EP 2011"?
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