Perversor – Umbravorous
Band: Perversor
Title: Umbravorous
Label: Pulverised Records
Release date: Feb 22, 2019
Country: Chile
Format reviewed: Digital Promo
They say opposites attract and PERVERSOR proves the point, fusing two of metal’s most coveted subgenres to deliver a brutal blend of eviscerating thrash that’s deeply rooted with black metal influences. With their debut in 2008, several EPs and splits under their belt, and another full length out in 2015, getting this album out so soon is hopefully a great sign of things to come with the band building some serious momentum. Even though things are short, with all ten songs adding up to just over the thirty minute mark, ‘UMBRAVOROUS’ is another fantastically paced and familiarly structured album from the Chilean blackened thrashers. Although the band originally released everything independently in November 2018 through bandcamp, they quickly partnered up with Pulverised Records out of Singapore. The full release is now upon us with the album now available on multiple formats including some limited edition vinyl [Catalogue ID: ASH160LP].
PERVERSOR open things up with the aptly named “Deadly Poison and Black Fire”, providing some strong imagery of an ancient battle between demonic forces as I listened and looked for more intricacies in the fantastic cover art. ‘UMBRAVOROUS’ has a breakneck pace, with each song usually starting with a full on assault of drums and quick guitar riffs and always packed to the brim with either straight up thrash or a more heavy blend of styles. Each song also offers up a slightly different formula with some featuring trademark thrash metal guitar charges, and others incorporating powerful black metal sections, with the classic Norwegian style swarming guitars driving things forward instead of speed alone. The album features some of the band’s best production value to date, with the decision of sticking with a wicked low-fi growl working well to tie everything together.
One of the things I enjoy most about this band and specifically this album is their ability to subtly shift gears between styles without losing focus. “The Dwell” and “Somnambulus” have a full on thrash metal feel, while on the other hand “Deadly Poison and Black Fire”, “Formidable Destino”, and “Virtual Anthropophagy” incorporate much stronger blackened elements into the tracks. This makes for a really enjoyable listen, not knowing when to expect the next ghoulish thrash gallop or enveloping black metal guitar progression throughout the madness. My favourite song off ‘UMBRAVOROUS’ is a tie between the opening track for its’ unique sinister tremolo bridge and “The Excrements of Infinity are the Vices of Divinity” for its unrelenting pace throughout the song.
My one small issue with this band is that although they make great cohesive albums, they sometimes fail to effectively close a song. Similar to earlier material, none of the songs featured guitar solos with only a few overly exciting bridge moments. This led to a few of the more straightforward songs failing to have a big payoff, missing the opportunity to benefit from what would definitely be a bold move at this point to think outside the box. That being said, PERVERSOR do not need any bells and whistles to incorporate into their devastating metal concoctions for success. They consistently deliver an aggressive and interesting listen for all extreme metal fans alike, so check out UMBRAVOROUS and everything else they have to offer! 7.5/10 Metal Yeti
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