So here we are, finally, with another effort from my 2017 ‘Album Of The Year’ winners, India’s very own son’s, Plague Throat. I’m gonna quote myself here to prove why they got that far up to begin with, so bear with me.
“2 – Plague Throat – The Human Paradox: Just fucking wow. This album caught me right off guard, I’d heard good things about these guys and being on Transcending Obscurity Records, I decided to have a listen. Fuck me in the goat arse if these guys aren’t as tight as a fish’s bum. Absolute technical supremacy and just plain nastiness await. Can’t get enough of these guys.They just keep on pummelling my tiny brain”
Okay, maybe I could have been a little more eloquent, but after successive listens to that very album over the intervening time I can still but only marvel at how fucking good it truly is, and why they aren’t even more highly recognised. My tiny brain has had a lot of time to soak it all in, and when I found out about the new EP coming out I could only salivate like Pavlov’s dog in anticipation whenever mention was made of it. Look up Pavlov, listen to “The Human Paradox“, and then let’s continue.
I’m just gonna say now, that I am far from disappointed, quite the contrary. It has to be said that I am no huge fan of overly technical Death Metal, being more of a fan of the Old School style, and yet from track three on their first one, “Fallible Transgression” I somehow got instantly hooked into their particular style of both direct delivery and ‘chopped up like a dead hookers corpse after a night with a particularly bad man’ kind of forward projection. As a matter of fact, if they where any more forward about their intent to commit nasty shit upon us all, they have yet to show us otherwise.
Somehow, and I do believe it’s a talent thing, they have not only managed to stay true to form here, they may have also surpassed it. After a little intro,”The Epoch Of Catastrophe I”, that shows the beating you are about to receive, they again launch themselves at us with great amounts of gusto and aural buggery. “The Epoch Of Catastrophe II” is the perfect example of just how crushing this band can be. Their style may appear to be a more flat out approach than my usual European slower kind of Death, but somehow it sticks more in the mind than a lot of the Americanised stuff where every riff becomes a blur, and every album sounds pretty much the same, with notable exceptions of course.
You want a little dissonance? It’s in there, not overly, but it’s there. Take track three “Instruments Of Antipathy” for example. Is their a note or scale these guys aren’t aware of? Then do tell, but the difference is that they are still willing to give you, the listener a more straightforward pleasurable kind of journey. They do not try to make you say wow and appear uber cool to your mates by saying that they have defied all logic, and we should all bow down to their extreme excellence for at least a day or two before the next fad arrives. No, Plague Throat are brutally honest, and only dish out what they feel is necessary, and that is well enough for any fucking living creature, man, beast, or fish!
Number four “Primitive Defence Mechanism” is nothing more than a total display of power. It’s all about them riffs, and the sonic destruction that they may cause. The ‘tight as a fishes bum’ reference must be used again. There is nothing these guys cannot do with their instruments anymore to impress me. When they slow things down it’s immensely satisfying, and when they go for broke it’s like the chunkiest meal you have ever partaken of. Sure, as with any band comparisons may be made, but holy fuck, do they need to be!
Track five “Re-Shaping A Paralysed World” is a pretty damn reasonable track as well, and showcases all of the above, everything in its place, some damn fine drummery on display if you like it fast, and an example of how almost Thrashy at times these lads can be, and then we move onto the finale “Portraying A Void“. If this fucker doesn’t show you what Plague Throat are capable of, then nothing will. An expert display of timing, delivery, and riffs that would put many a band to shame. If it’s Death delivered with a certain amount of venom that you require, look no further
As for my previous statement about them surpassing “The Human Paradox“, I stand true. This is not vastly different enough to make you think that they have grown immensely into some other sort of monster, but it is enough to make you believe that the monster is well and truly alive, and evolving at a rapid rate. I for one cannot await more, and you should seek out ALL of their works to put this into perspective.
Kudos Plague Throat, may you keep on this path, for surely one day we may look back upon you as one of the greats.
Rating – 4.5/5
Get into it right here, and that other masterpiece!
https://plaguethroatofficial.bandcamp.com/album/evolutionary-impasse
https://plaguethroat.bandcamp.com/album/the-human-paradox-death-metal
The Metal Wanderlust 