HERETICAL SECT, a Blackened Death Metal band from New Mexico, released their Doomy debut EP, "Rotting Cosmic Grief". The EP is full of filthy Death Metal in the vein of AUTOPSY with hints of Black Metal. All four tracks burn by with an arsenal of riffs.

The riff-age on this EP is not very special. I feel like I'm listening to Blackened "Mental Funeral" as each riff falls under the category of unoriginal. There isn't much one can do with this style of Death Metal, and it is made obvious with the riffs presented. However, they did the best they could with what they made, and it still turned out to be a good release.

"Plateau of Stars" has a very Doomy sound with six minutes of slow, layered riff-age. It is one of the better tracks on the record because of its layered riffs. It makes an evil sound that creates character. "Swar: Wreathed Flames" is also a track that stands out. It uses higher notes to make it more interesting and has nice dissonance. There are even Thrashier moments that somehow fit in.

The production is surprisingly clean for a Death Metal band in the AUTOPSY line of work. While a raw production would give it an old school edge, I'm glad they went with a "cleaner" production. Everything is more accented with the production being on the cleaner side, and the music sound a lot better because of it. I can even hear the bass at times.

While this sound is pretty hard to work with, HERETICAL SECT work with it well. It's not the best EP, but it isn't the worst. The music is strong, and the songwriting shows capability. While originality isn't present on this EP, there are factors that make it good. Whether it's the Doomy guitars of "Plateau of Stars" or the dissonant "Swar: Wreathed Flames," this EP goes at a steady pace with decent enough riffs. The music presented on this EP shows strong potential.