CESSPOOL OF CORRUPTION brings heavy, crushing (instrumentally as well as vocally) DEATH METAL with the occasional melodic flourish. The first minute or so of "Ubiquitous Presence" sounds like cut-and-dry death metal, with the thundering drums and brutal riffs, not to mention the rumbling, waking volcano of a vocalist. Then, melodies start incorporating themselves into the riffage, notably through tremolo picking, as in most MELODIC DEATH METAL. Accordingly, the vocals don't always stay in that gravely register, sometimes ascending to screeches as well as roars, which are done equally well. "Technological Enslavement" is more obviously melodic from the outset, kicking things off with a fantastically techy pedal-tone riff. Vocalist Blake Humphrey shows off more of his range on this song, sounding like he is in a BLACK DAHLIA MURDER tribute band. The riffs are of course great and that is one thing, but the lead playing on "Technological Enslavement" (and also everywhere) is great. It shreds hard enough to remind of other neoclassical DEATH METAL giants, but never loses clarity or melody. The solo on "Technological Enslavement" even leads into a simple but soaring harmony.

Production on this EP is excellent, with all elements being audible and crisp no matter the tempo. "Emergence of Truth" slowly layers the complexity, opening with long held power chords and sparse percussive accents, before a typical onslaught of creative riffs and double-bass mayhem moving just fast enough to track, and never sacrifices intelligibility at any stage. "Emergence of Truth" is a brutal, punishing and splendidly venomous song, but at the same time feels like the most melodic on the EP. I think that's because of one riff recurring throughout the song that is infinitely more hummable than any other heard so far. More brutal riffs and rhythms resume on "Eradication of the Subservient", which brings back associations with old school DEATH METAL found on "Ubiquitous Presence" in some parts, . But after the solo especially, it becomes unquestionably technical and progressive, with a thrashy breakdown segueing into an alien-sounding riff that's like a slowed-down RINGS OF SATURN (so one you can understand).

The last song on the EP, "Humanoid in Form", is over twice the length of any other at 9 minutes long. This provokes a bit of apprehension, as the length of the rest of this EP was just right and avoided feeling over-full, but I think it's safe to say CESSPOOL OF CORRUPTION has enough ideas in the bank to make 9 minutes interesting. To start with, they throw out a very melodic intro lead a couple minutes in that again highlights their impeccable musicality, and ability to combine that musicality with savage, wild DEATH METAL abandon. The song is full of sweep-picked riffing calling to mind seminal bands like NECROPHAGIST. "Humanoid in Form" relaxes about six minutes in, settling into a hypnotic churn, accompanied unsurprisingly by another resplendent lead before fading out into eerie silence.

Anyone looking for more exciting and vibrant MELODIC DEATH METAL that errs toward the technical side would be well served in listening to Eradication of the Subservient in full, maybe a couple times in a row, just to make sure they get everything. There is hardly a bad word to say about the EP; the band exists as (and I hope I don't get ahead of myself here) heralds of the approach of Chuck Schuldiner and others who broke barriers not only by virtue of fresh riffs but through keen understanding of song structure.