ASTRIFEROUS "Pulsations From The Black Orb" CD

ASTRIFEROUS "Pulsations From The Black Orb" CD (Pulverised Records 2023)

Two demos, one split, one MLP: these are the releases Astriferous have already left an impression with. But now, this Costa Rican death metal juggernaut is back with their full-length studio debut, Pulsations From the Black Orb.

Decay, despair, and bubbling rot come to the surface with the abhorrent opening piece. Setting a gargantuan monolith to crumble before us, the intensity is high even before we truly begin. Roaring vocals and meaty riffs stain the air as pummeling drums bludgeon the skull to smithereens. The raw and ineffably dark production is one that will immediately leave non-diehards running with their tails between their legs. But those who can hack the savage attack of the senses will hear some truly phenomenal, atmospheric, and yet unforgiving death metal that spews rot and hacks limbs while some cleverly placed riffs give a very uncomfortable ambience to the whole thing. The gripping and unique approach is delivered at high-tempos to ensure maximum damage while some gloomier passages give a rich, textured, and hauntingly ghastly dynamic to the record. Blending the cacophonous Finnish death metal titans of old with some South American deathrashing violence, Astriferous conjure an atmosphere and sound entirely of their own while reading from the ancient tomes of morbidity.

Firing on all cylinders, this record is an amalgamation of the band's best works. The doomy parts are more spectral than ever, the bestial aggression is unrivalled in savagery, and the progression as putrescent as one could dream of. Those who have followed the Astriferous journey can revel in the splendor that they have reached here with their best achievement to date. New maniacs can be won over by their first experience being a truly remarkable milestone in death metal from a far-off corner of the world, proudly planting the Costa Rican flag in the underground’s conscious with a truly marvelous, menacing, and engrossing cut of excellence. Much like the chasmic, void-like vortex of grotesqueries on the cover art, this album will pull you into a pool of macabre oddities and never let you go…