Making noise since 1992 are the Spanish Death Metal pioneers of AVULSED. During those years they have provided us with seven studio albums and one live album full of different ways of suffering and dying. Plus of course all the collaborations that have resulted in all other kinds of releases. The thing that was always very evident when listening to AVULSED was the matter of how deprived and sick the music used to sound. Almost like a constant flow of vomit and faeces being spewed over all of us. That made them more of a favourite to the aficionados of the underground sound than of those who like the more majorly acceptable sound of Death Metal. I for one am one of the latter, which didn’t stop me requesting my main editor to send me studio album number 8, “Phoenix Cryptobiosis”, for review.

Well, would you know it, AVULSED have been able to acquire a clean sound for the first time that I know of, at least in Death Metal terms. Not only that, but the surprise that I get when they start playing “Limbs Regeneration (Instrumental)” and “Lacerate To Dominate” has me wondering if old age has forced the band to slow down considerably. Ah, just when I was contemplating that remark that thought is immediately crushed when “Blood Monolith” starts, as not only the guitars as well as the drums have decided to abandon the slow lane and go quite a bit faster. It still doesn’t feel like full steam, but the increase in speed is very clear indeed. And that is also when I feel that AVULSED sounds the strongest, when the music, voice and atmosphere created gel into each other. The same goes for “Unrotted”, one of the faster songs on the album. It just gives AVULSED just that little more leverage.

Thankfully the band keeps up changing tempos during the rest of “Phoenix Cryptobiosis”, making sure that your attention is brought back to spec with every break or change. But still, I feel that the musicians of AVULSED are holding themselves back, not going full throttle, avoiding break neck speed. And to me that is an opportunity lost, because now with a clean sound and clearly very good musicians, that could sound amazing, and lift the rating of “Phoenix Cryptobiosis” just that little bit higher than it is now. I really like the music and the feel that AVULSED is offering here, but for it to be exceptional it needs to be taken up another notch. In speed and intensity.