GOREPHILIA – IN THE EYE OF NOTHING (Me Saco Un Ojo Records / Dark Descent Records)

September 8, 2020September 8, 2020 Gerald Robinson Dark Descent Records, Me Saco Un Ojo Records, In The Eye Of Nothing, Gorephilia

Gorephilia have produced an excellent slab of hulking, fleshy Death Metal on their third full-length, ‘In The Eye Of Nothing’, with nine masterfully-crafted tracks measured out across almost 43 minutes, three of those of the substantial variety, ‘Devotion Upon The Worm’, ‘Ark Of The Undecipherable’ and ‘Perpetual Procession’ amassing more than 20 minutes between them.

The attack is varied, with fluctuating tempos across the duration of the album, although Gorephilia are at their rotten best when moving at slow-to-mid pace, which they do for large swathes of ‘In The Eye Of Nothing’, the ambient interlude at the heart of the recording – ‘Consensus’ – adding to the discomforting nature of what is both a highly recommended and thoroughly enjoyable experience.

The roots of Gorephilia are firmly entrenched in the putrescent olden days of Death Metal, with Morbid Angel influences particularly obvious, although you could probably namecheck almost any of the subgenre’s greats and qualify these comparisons by adding that the music is, however, delivered with a modern twist. So it’s a mixture of old and new, graced and enhanced by superb musicianship and song-writing. Back-to-back offerings ‘Simplicity Of Decay’ and ‘Not For The Weak’ are good examples of modern, slightly progressive Death Metal at its finest, somewhere between Vader and Blood Incantation. Perhaps.

The chugging, jangling bass stands out but a clean production allows every strike of every instrument to shine through, whether the riffs are crushing, plodding or gliding, The drums crash and roll – with cymbals in the foreground – and the music is topped off with trademark sick guttural Death Metal vocals. There’s horror and decay aplenty here, while the more modern elements serve to freshen up the fetid Finnish filth. All in all, ‘In The Eye Of Nothing’ provides a solid merging of old and new, albeit with the Death Metal itself surprisingly melodic considering the band name.

Evilometer: 555/666