With manic glee, FATHOMLESS RITUAL recreate the maddening, unhinged kind of death metal created by the likes of DEMILLICH and give their own ugly, grime-ridden twist to it. The music has a darker, murkier, cavernous sound but all the same has a denser quality and a sense of modern urgency about it, which livens up the proceedings. The album has eight songs. “Hecatomb for an Unending Madness” is a short blast of dissonant Death Metal with gutturals deeper than a cave. The riff creates a hypnotic effect on the listener, as it repeats, expands, and retreats again. “Exiled to the Lower Catacombs” is another cavernous offering with thwacking, meaty bass notes and more guttural vocals that shake the ground. The production gives the album a gritty edge.

“Gorge of the Nameless” has a similar sound, and here is where we get into trouble with a good deal of Death Metal…the boundaries for the genre are so narrow, bands often fall into this trap. “Grafted to the Chambers of Mirth” is almost a continuation of the previous song…it has the same sound, the same riffs, and a similar pace. “Wielding the Bone Wand” has a little more variation, but it’s clear now that the band has a sound that they are comfortable with, and they are sticking to it come Hell or high water. “Cosmic Reflections from the Basin of Blood” is another similar offering, as is “Gelatinous Being of Countless Forms.” Seven songs in, and there is very little diversity.

“Gifts for Aranaktu” closes the album. You guessed it…the sound is very much the same again. Unfortunately, all of the clichés of Death Metal are present here…deep gutturals, pig squeals, and song titles that don’t make sense. Some purists might like it, and I can appreciate straight Death Metal, but the songs have to have their own identity, and so does the album and the band. This was mediocre at best.