Vortex Oblivion by DESEKRYPTOR

For nearly a decade now, Indiana's DESEKRYPTOR have been patiently perfecting their craft. In 2017 arrived two demos - Demo 2016 and Chasm of Rot - which were then collected together under the title of the latter and released by BLOOD HARVEST on cassette later that year. A year later came a split with comrades Draghkar, also via BLOOD HARVEST, and the momentum seemed to be in DESEKRYPTOR's favor: good 'n' gutted DEATH METAL, with a bit of a blackened singe. Five years of silence followed until the Curse of the Execrated EP, which proved that the quartet had only become more poised and powerful during that hiatus. Now, at long last, DESEKRYPTOR reveal the full fathom of that poise & power with their debut album, Vortex Oblivion. Aptly titled, Vortex Oblivion is a churning 'n' spurning vacuum of charred riffing, mangled rhythms, and dread atmosphere. As they've proven in the past but more so display here, DESEKRYPTOR keenly navigate that spectral divide between classic / "old school" death metal and the genre's tendrilous developments in recent years. From heads-down tank propulsion and doomed-out stomp on to atonal and/or angular twists and mesmerizing blackened slipstreaming, no tool of death metal's ancient and modern schools is left untouched. But, above all, it's the manner in which DESEKRYPTOR wield those tools that puts Vortex Oblivion over, the band's songwriting acumen pulling it all together to create a seamless experience and still leaving plenty of atmosphere to spare as you're summarily crushed - and then minced. This is what classic death metal debuts are made of!