From their Linktree page, “Set to release on February 7, 2025, through Skepsis Recordings, PATHOGENIC’s "Crowned in Corpses" is a ferocious declaration of modern metal, intricately fusing together labyrinthine riffs, relentless rhythms, and chilling visions of a decaying world.” Hailing from Massachusetts, PATHOGENIC formed in 2004, but have only two full-length releases under their belts…in 2011, and 2019. Six years later, they return with their third, titled “Crowned in Corpses.” The album has eight songs.

“Mass Grave Memory” is first, and out of the gates comes a weighted and heavy sound with harsh vocals that are deadly. You can also hear the band’s excellent sense of musicianship. It’s dark too, as the title suggests. “The New Rot” is more chaotic, with a pattern of start and stopping on a dime, and the way that the bad shifts the meter suggests an advanced sense of timing and dexterity. “Dead but not at Rest” being with clean guitars, some solemn melodies, and a bit of a groovy jaunt, showcasing the band’s arsenal is not just aggression. But from there, contentious elements take over, and the song is punishing, almost like being kicked repeatedly when you are already down.

“Exiled from the Abyss” is another brutal and aggressive offering, again with the dexterity that the band shows in their command of the timing. They are impeccable, hitting connecting passages with the skills of a wizard. “Fragments” is a smooth combination of hard-hitting aggressive elements with softer, more ethereal ones, and the band shows once more their deep repertoire of songwriting skills. This one breathes, and punches you hard in the gut as well, with outstanding lead guitar and bass work. The spacey keyboards add to a sort of outer world sound also. The title track is deeper in its interpretation of the darkness and decay, and it presents the cold realization of the situation in a straightforward, matter-of-fact manner.

“Drag your Crosses” might be a dig at Christianity, and the band hold nothing back her, plowing over the dirt and ground with all the might of a freight train that jumped the tracks. “Silicone Regime” closes the album, and it’s another reminder of the dark and complicated world of politics that we currently live in. “Silicone” refers to things that are man-made, not organic, and not real. The music drives that sense of existential dread deep into your soul, and doesn’t stop until it is as black as the abyss.

This album was executed nearly flawlessly. It was cavernous, and resounding, and the aggressive and sometimes nihilistic tones were tempered at just the right times with snippets of melody, showing a band that has a deep well of creativity. The sound drew you in, charmed and beguiled you, like the undertow of the ocean, promising salvation that never materialized. In the end, we are all just dust.