Death metal has undergone a very significant shift the past decade, the sounds expanding and creating new branches that are bound to be nurturing as the ones that fed the current era of bands. That’s kept the sub-genre not only continually breeding new artists but also keeping the sound sharp, focused, and bloody.

Danish crushers Phrenelith have been a part of that movement, circulating a few levels deeper than, say, a Tomb Mold or Blood Incantation but still doing their part to strengthen an art form that is a warped and ugly as any. On their mangling and fiery third record “Ashen Womb,” they build on the foundation they laid down over the past decade and added more muscle and sinew, as well as some inventive and nightmarish bends that jar your guts. The band—guitarist/vocalist Simon Daniel, guitarist/vocalist David, bassist Jakob, drummer Andreas Nordgreen—twists things to their will, again displaying why they deserve more credit and hopefully find those accolades on this record.

“Noemata” is a gloomy, yet battering instrumental opener, setting the stage to the fire that lies ahead, which greets us wholly on “Astral Larvae.” Vicious growls devastate while the playing could melt steel beams, turning into a infernal force that rips with violent intent and utter demolition. “A Husk Wrung Dry” trudges before it takes on speed, ugly smearing making blood and dirt combine, an Earth-crunching tempo leaving broken bodies behind. The leads menace as the playing continues to ramp up the intensity, melodies bleeding over scraping growls. “Lithopaedion” rips and slashes, growls curdling, the playing penetrating the senses and squeezing you mentally. Warped melodies hover, uniting with sooty growls, the guitars breathing fire as everything ends in rubble. “Nebulae” is eerie and darker, and even when the violence breaks through the surface, there remains a sense of strange unease. Clouds form to add splashes of gray as the drums combust, clean tones mixing in with sharp steel chaos, dissolving into a cosmic void.

“Stagnated Blood” rips open, guitars spiraling, a gutting force slicing right through midsections and spilling innards on the floor. The leads make the room spin, growls delivering disgust and filth, the storming pace continuing to devastate before merging with a haze and bleeding into “Sphageion,” a strange interlude with eerie guitar work, pattering drums, and an alien finish. “Chrysopoeia” opens with guitars fully dominating, crunching and chewing, the growls punishing as speed gains control. The playing rains down with force, melodies sprawling through throat-shredding growls, gushing melodies, and a molten end that scorches flesh. The closing title track runs 9:56 and develops a strange aura, mixing into crushing blasts, mauling growls, and a thrashy tempo that makes blood pulse. The leads entangle as the drums attack, and a clobbering flood makes waters boil, an apocalyptic scene drowning everything as the final strains slowly drain into hell.

Phrenelith slowly have been honing their death metal chops over the past decade and their previous two full-lengths, but “Ashen Womb” pushes them even further into the upper echelon. This is a lung-blowing record that has moments of strangeness and space-age darkness intertwined with sinewy death. This is a hammer blow worth sustaining, even if it leaves you mentally and physically drained well after the music ends.

For more on the band, go here: https://phrenelith.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.darkdescentrecords.com/shop/

Or here: https://www.mesacounojo.com/shop/phrenelith-ashen-womb-vinyl/

For more on the label, go here: https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/

And here: https://www.mesacounojo.com/