Purulent Apocalypse by Caustic Phlegm
One of the most disgusting death metal newcomers in many a year, CAUSTIC PHLEGM are aptly monikered: while not strictly goregrind by definition, their gooey-thick pummel sounds like a mountain a slime guided forth by a Panzer tank. The work of erstwhile Chestcrush mainman Evan Vasilakos, this UK entity released their debut demo, Putrefying Flesh, during the summer of 2022. Two tape versions followed in the fall, but HELLS HEADBANGERS stepped forward in 2023 to release this slab of rot on 7" vinyl. And for good reason: with pulsing double-kick drums guiding the ungodly heavy riffing, CAUSTIC PHLEGM found that hallowed ground between Sweden's Carnage, Finland's Abhorrence, and the almighty Impetigo, resulting in something that could've hypothetically been released on Seraphic Decay Records way back in the day.
Just getting started, CAUSTIC PHLEGM are now set to unleash their debut album, displaying ever-sicker sides of their authentically ancient aesthetic. Titled Purulent Apocalypse, the band's first full-length sees Vasilakos going deeper into his influences - the first-two-albums era of Carcass, Pungent Stench, and Entombed to Undergang, Cryptworm, and Cerebral Rot more recently - and arriving with a monolithic slab of crushing darkness. More measured in its tempo, almost coolly cruising at times, Purulent Apocalypse doesn't need to blast away at every opportunity to accomplish its goal; the riffing is likeliest the absolute HEAVIEST you will hear all year on a death metal record, and the below-the-abyss vocals are slimed to the extreme. But more than the execution of such is the songwriting: straightforward and streamlined, hammering yet atmospheric, and on the right side of "caveman." "I wanted to utilize my HM2 and RAT pedals, which I love, and play something simple, to have fun without overthinking it like I do in Chestcrush," says Evangelos, "just plug in, record the first riff in mind, and gurgle." While that seems to undersell the primitive brilliance of Purulent Apocalypse, there's no discounting the sum effect, which is enhanced by an undercurrent of creepy vintage synth in spots - something that also earmarked that first demo, with its lost-VHS interludes.
Fittingly completed by psychedelic-horror cover artwork by Gorey Corey Tornlimbs, Purulent Apocalypse pushes CAUSTC PHLEGM further ahead of the pack - "old school," "goregrind," and any other pretenders!
Purulent Apocalypse is available on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats by HELL'S HEADBANGERS.
Tracklist
| 1. | Cadaveric Spasms & Purge Fluid Showers | 4:48 |
| 2. | The Teratophilist | 6:28 |
| 3. | Fouled, Infected & Infested | 2:27 |
| 4. | Flesh Melt Contagion | 3:49 |
| 5. | Impose To Decompose | 4:26 |
| 6. | Soft Bones | 5:03 |
| 7. | Blister Bliss | 5:26 |
| 8. | Purulent Apocalypse | 6:55 |
