I'm inclined to believe there's a foul substance in the air. Why? Many solid bands are releasing mediocre to terrible albums this year (that's not to say there haven't been any great ones). PYREXIA is no different. The entire album was insufferable. It drained my vitality and my stamina was hanging by a mere thread. At first it seemed decent, but the more I let it simmer the more I realized I've made a grave mistake.

Musicianship: seems to be leaving PYREXIA at a fast pace. "Feast of Iniquity" is just a mish-mash of different successful bands (some I would argue should never mix together). Their album title is literally portrayed in their music. I thought bringing your art to life was just an expression but, PYREXIA go all out to make that solidifying title a reality even if it means releasing a hell-forbidden album to its fans.

For an album with two drummers it falls short to even suspect that. Even if it were one it stills falls below the threshold of mediocrity. In fact, PYREXIA's drummers are equivalent to Paul Mazurkiewicz (see my AEON - "Aeons Black" review for more of an opinion on him). Generally speaking, you have your guitarists playing some complicated riffs and the drummer is like "Whoa, hold on man chill with them rhythms let's bring it down a notch". The guitarists decide to ignore him and the drummer sticks to his guns causing a mutual-less compilation that is torture for one's ears. In my opinion, the drummer is the key member in determining rhythm and when he/she fails it seriously damages the compositions at hand. In rare circumstances I can let it bypass but, when you are playing modern or brutal death metal you can't hide behind your peers.
I might've been too praising when I said the guitarists are playing "complicated riffs". They're really not but, occasionally you do get a sweet riff/s. I find PYREXIA's style hard to appreciate on this release. They incorporate groove riffs, which is a genre I pretty much hate (it's worse than nu-metal). The breaks from brutal death to groove don't exactly transition from one another too cleanly. To make matters worse are the production of the album itself and the vocalist.

The production is overly produced. It sounds like a replica of BEHEMOTH. Advancing technology is not always a good thing especially if all the vibes are sucked away and all you have is a dry rash. The vocalist is what made "Feast of Iniquity" absolutely unbearable. Shute feeds off the direction Keith DeVito set forth for the band but is a lot worse. His style consists of these weak shouts that endure throughout the entire album. There are no altercations or sophistication to liven up the mood. He's like your noob gamer who only uses the low kick function in a Mortal Kombat match between friends. He sounds just like Eddie Hermida (ALL SHALL PERISH) but like I mentioned - one directional.

I tried to like this release but if I did I'd be lying to myself. I guess the line-up inconsistencies might've had something do to with it but I don't know. I know for a fact the production and drummer instantly affected me. The vocalist took a while to set its ticking bomb leading to my near-death experience. But once it latched on I knew I was done for.