Cenotaph - Precognition to Eradicate (2021)

Genre: Brutal Death Metal

Location: Turkey

Label: Coyote Records / New Standard Elite / Tentacles Industries

Listen: Bandcamp

Website: Facebook

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As one of the oldest and steadiest bands in the brutal death metal scene, Turkey’s Cenotaph have a long back-catalog of several classic releases, some more graphic than others. Despite the line-up turmoil that the group has undergone, it has been the case that there is a new release every 3 – 4 years, except the 7 year gap between 2010’s Putrescent Infectious Rabidity and 2017’s Perverse Dehumanized Dysfunctions.

Now, Precognition to Eradicate is mercilessly violent. Its production wouldn’t be characterized as totally polished, compared to other like-minded, modern bands, yet the record’s bulldozing sound exerts absolute domination. Living up to the band’s history, remarkable levels of brutality are achieved, while maintaining distinct technicality and deep, below-the-earth, growling throughout the whole album. Tempos constantly change, the maniacal guitar shredding focuses on the wall of heaviness instead of displaying prowess, there are moments of some more clear bass tapping while the drumming execution is plain savagery. The outcome of Precognition to Eradicate is fully served by its semi-dusty production, and Cenotaph show what it means to be a truly heavy band with top-notch musicianship.  

Listening to tracks like “Isolation Turned Into Cannibalism”, the self-titled track or “Anomalous Necrotic Breed”, the masterful combination of hard-hitting fast parts and short-termed, not overused grooves, as well as excellent usage of all the instruments involves, establishes how focused Cenotaph are with this release. A slower, almost doomy section comes towards the ending of the fifth track, “Recombinant Extraterrestrial New Form”, which is also met in the record’s final track “Into the Septic Molecular New Form”, two moments when Cenotaph dare to step into more abstract territories, compared to their known pummeling brutal death metal core.

With its delicate artwork (done by Delik Saike), Precognition to Eradicate proved to be more convincing than the last two efforts of the band and is a highlight for this year’s death metal release wagon.

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Tracklist:

1. Anti-Pathogenic Morbid Incubation  

2. Progeny of Embryonic Congenital Malformations

3. Anomalous Necrotic Breed

4. Virus Induced Dehumanization 

5. Recombinant Extraterrestrial New Form 

6. Isolation Turned into Cannibalism 

7. Precognition to Eradicate

8. Pandemic Bacterial Reverse Mutation 

9. Into the Septic Molecular New Form

 

Damage: 3.5/5 [Excellent]