CORPOREAL TORMENT

By now, ANATOMIA should require little introduction. For nearly 20 years, this Japanese cult have explored the darkest and most deranged ends of the death-doom spectrum. Theirs is a sound thatAEs intrinsically tied to tradition yet evinces a wealth of weirdness, making their sound both classic and challenging in equal measure. And while their countless split recordings are beloved by the bandAEs ever-growing legions of fans, it is ANATOMIAAEs full-lengths where they truly dive into the deep end, exploring subterranean expanses of the subconscious and sound itself, making each of their three judiciously-spaced-apart albums unique experiences unto themselves. The same can be said for ANATOMIAAEs long-awaited fourth album, Corporeal Torment. Although itAEs been merely four years since the critically acclaimed Cranial Obsession u that span of time rather quick between ANATOMIA albums u Corporeal Torment offers a more concise and daresay oenergetico counterpart to its epically mammoth predecessor. Then again, with tempos rarely kicking above a sludgy gallop as set forth by early heroes Autopsy, itAEs not long before second track oSlime of Putrescenceo drags the listener well and truly into the void of nulled-senses atmospherics. Indeed, ANATOMIAAEs grasp of mesmerizing mood and dynamics they so masterfully displayed across the aforementioned predecessor is flexed even more fully on Corporeal Torment: more extremes between crushing and quiet, BPMs often dialed back into the negatives, and reverberating textures that occasionally recall musique concr?te. In fact, the slipstream of energy into inertia as the album throbs onward becomes a vortex thatAEs nigh impossible to escapeabut perhaps that was never an option when one steps into ANATOMIAAEs claustrophobic cocoon of death-doom. No hyperbole and no hope, Corporeal Torment is punctuation to the end.'