I made a comment on a pro wrestling social media site today, and the reaction I got was a bunch of boot-licking ass kissers who think their macho online presence makes up for brazenly excusing some of the worst human rights abuses and outright fascism in this country’s history. Which is saying something. Imagine publicly endorsing this. ON A PRO WRESTLING PAGE!

Portland, Ore., doom manglers Dispossessed see shit for what it is, and their new record “Dêmocide” battles back against fascist regimes, environmental horrors, atrocities being undertaken on other people, and systemic violence. There is no remaining quiet at the sight of horrors that seem to top themselves every day, and the four (technically five) tracks packed into this record feel like they’re frying the power structure in an acid bath. The band—vocalist M. Du Bose, guitarist M. White, guitarist/bassist K. Jewett, drummer L. MacDonald—lays waste, daring to strike back against a regime that would like to quash dissention and refusing to be anything but loud and bothersome.

“Exanimate” starts with bass chugging, sounds ringing out and massacring your ears, growls menacing as the guitars continue to swelter. The energy melts and smolders, the playing continuing to bring heat, doom bubbling like oil, scorching you and creating toxic fumes. The battering renews as growls smother and riffs burn, a sorrowful murk hanging over everything, sounds sailing off into misery. “Concrete Tomb” opens with growls retching, the pace ravaging as it moves like a beast, growls circling as the leads swagger. The churning becomes insurmountable, guitars adding pressure, the final moments choked out by frustration and fury.

“Opulent Doom” belts with shrieks and punchy guitars, acidic melodies eating away at flesh, the drums devastating as the power corrodes. The vocals throttle as the pace grinds, and then the screams that follow feel particularly morbid. The energy turns around as infernal gusts punish, and the final moments burn off into exhaust. “Watan/If I Must Die” technically are listed as two tracks, but they act as one mammoth force, the bass spilling tar, guitars marring as power pummels. The growls warp over a bruising tempo, dragging you through hell before a brief respite lets you catch your breath. Sounds buzz as if emitted from a dank basement while howls boil in echo, guitars liquify, and the final moments lurch into an unforgiving oblivion.

Dispossessed’s commitment to crushing fascism and lashing back at powers of oppression act as a fucking warhammer on “Dêmocide.” The music is a galvanizing statement conveyed by earth-crushing doom and death that feels grimy and devastating, the exact type of response you wish people who could do something about this would muster. This is a massive strike back, and while it might not change the tide, it’s heartening to know something so ugly could stand for righteousness. 

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

To buy the album, go here: https://carbonizedrecords.merchtable.com/?

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