Death metal is a ridiculously deep pool with a lot of swimmers, some of them only marginally above water, and to get into that mix takes some guts to be honest. But death metal exists, and as long as it does, bands will try to add their touch to that sub-genre, and we encourage that, even if it means we’re inundated with mundane bands. But not all of them are that way.
Polish death metal squad Clairvoyance just are getting their boots situated into the bloody soil, but if their debut EP “Threshold of Nothingness” can be trusted as a, um, clairvoyant into their future, things are bound to get gory and ugly. Over 5 tracks and about 24 minutes, the band—vocalist Maciej Cesarczyk, guitarists Lukasz Lipski and Denis Didenko, bassist Kacper Pawluk, drummer Adrian Szczepański—absolutely delivers, sounding relentless and snarling, dealing power and menace the way some bands emit glory and elegance. Everything is ugly, with wounds promising to turn into scars, and these first five tracks threaten to be the start of a long-running, physically intimidating campaign.
“Decline Into Oblivion” rips open with death metal rolling hard, the vocals crushing as the emotion bubbles over. The track then switches up as the speed collects and takes off, the band mauls, and the deadly final strains blend into “The Curse” that steamrolls right away. Death chugs unleash violence and unforgiving pressure while the guitars shriek, doing damage to your eardrums. The growls dig into the soil looking for a place to bury you, and the playing is only too happy to load you into the ground as the fires rage toward “Chronicles of Emptiness” that feels doomy and infernal as it starts. The pace increasingly picks up and delivers devastation, and then things turn on a dime, the thrashing changing its approach but not its blood lust. The drums are turn rock to powder, the guitars drive the blade, and everything ends in blood spatter. “A Cairn of Souls” is speedy and relentless, going for a murderous spree that gives you no time to take cover. It feels like the earth is rumbling beneath you, the mud thickens, and nothing is left but blood and bone. “Tarnished Vessel” is the closer, starting hazy and humid before the machine kicks into high gear. Beastly growls combine with a murderous pace, the guitars smearing mud on your face and into your mouth. The playing gets burlier, shedding blood through open wounds, and then the guitars hang dangerously in the air, leaving scorched earth behind.
“Threshold of Nothingness” is a quick glimpse of a band coming into its own, delivering death metal inspired by decades gone past but treating it with a modern bloodthirst that’s impossible to avoid. Clairvoyance already have a stranglehold on their sound, and every moment of this 24-minute EP is spilling over the edges with gore and pain, proving they have the meddle to be a major force going forward. This is a punishing first foray into metal’s shark-infested waters, and they have the tenacity and power not only to survive but to dominate.
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/clairvoyancedeathmetal
To buy the album, go here: https://shop.bloodharvest.se/?s=Clairvoyance&post_type=product
For more on the label, go here: https://www.bloodharvest.se/
Meat Mead Metal 