Faeces - Nihilominus

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No strangers in the Brutal Death Metal scene, FAECES have released a new album, “Nihilominus” comes ten years after their previous effort “Upstream”. The record starts with “Life is Chaos”, blasting at full speed with 100% pure Death Metal. First thing you notice is the tightness of the music, the technicality and skillful compositions lie bare in your face.

The vocals are very much the pure definition of Death Metal vocals, mostly low and filthy growls with combinations and range variations that add up to the brutality; you’re barely one minute into the song and fall into a pit of some serious deep, slamming grooves and breakdowns. Drums are precise and accompany the other elements without shadowing other instruments or saturating the whole. The mix is quite enjoyable.

I must say that sometimes too much technicality and complexity seem to me overwhelming and hard to follow, yet I admire the creativity and ability to mix up so many different elements and be coherent. “My Demons Are Dead” may be a good example of this, a song with a great composition but in which I sort of lose track of things. On the other hand, there are slow parts that flow into beautiful harmonies and melodies in “Infirmity” making it a well-balanced track that leans more into the melodic side of Technical Death Metal.

Another track that I found to be excellent is “Fury”, my favorite song in the album, finely performed, with systematic beats and impressive musical architecture. There’s great riffing in all compositions, performed with mathematical precision as in “Decayed Liver”. At 2:46 in “Company of Corpses” there is an outstanding melodic moment that leads to a series of solos and fine string work. All the basic elements of the old school can be felt here, but there is also the modern complexity of progression, feels like a Death metal journey through the ages and into the future, all combined in a fresh package. A solid release.

Songwriting: 10
Musicianship: 10
Memorability: 7
Production: 9