Am I biased because I love a good death metal album? Yes. Does this album objectively kick ass regardless? FUCK. YES. Although, the band bills it as thrash metal only influenced by death and doom. Hmm. Okay...

So, who the hell are these crazy Norwegians by the name of ODIOUS ICON? Their debut release, PLANET OF IMMENSE DECAY, decidedly kicks the door down with relentless gun-slinging guitar riffs, chugging rhythm, and the precision of God himself (John Petrucci). These guys combine heavy with musicality as good as anybody on the scene right now, and it's a hell of a way to kick off the band's career. None of the songs are too long, all in the 2-4 minute range, but they pack about 10 minutes worth of music into each track. I cannot overstate how impressive this is as a debut release. The production is interesting, it's very hollow, chambered, and "un-produced" sounding. Normally, I like to knock a band for that. I love some good production value. However, ODIOUS ICON mixes and blends all the tracks together so well, it's impossible to knock the production from a pure talent standpoint, because they clearly know what they were aiming for, had a specific style, and executed it perfectly. None of the instruments are fighting each other for attention, and the vocals are perfectly laid overtop it all for astounding, ear-pleasing, absolute mayhem.

Opener and title-track "Planet of Immense Decay" kicks things off without waiting too long, banging through some punchy nail driven filler cymbal madness before 15 seconds in descending into the first murderously chugging riff that defines the whole album. Track 2 "Bloodbath" continues the trend with a very literal interpretation of the song's title. One of the most guttural and chugging riffs intros to one of my favorite vocal performances on the album. I hear a lot of DYSCARNATE influences here, whether that was intentional or not by the band, we are clearly starting to see a new wave of death metal emerge. It's dissonant, it's rapid fire, and it's absolutely brutal.

This album moves so goddamn fast you hardly even have time to blink. None of the songs slow down, none of them takes breaks, and they're all under 4 minutes long aside from the closer. Before you know it, you've arrived at track 6, "Bleed The Bastards," in my opinion possibly the catchiest song on the album. Not the heaviest, but that lead riff is wild and catchy as hell. At 2:29 the song does not overstay it's welcome, and leaves a perfect aftertaste. Not that it matters, because track 7 "Tomorrow Shall Die" has arrived and it's not taking any prisoners. Fast guitar, GUTTERAL vocals, crashing cymbals and drums, this is one of the heaviest and darkest songs on the album. It's only 2:07 long, but it doesn't waste a second.

Album closer "Exsanguination" wraps everything up perfectly. It's arguably the most complete song on the album, featuring a perfect blend of slow more melodic lines, and then the speedy thrash/doom guitars we love. It's also the longest song on the album coming in at 4:30, which serves as a nice contract to the blistering pace of the first 7 tracks. It is the perfect way to close the album, and it's a sign of mature songwriting. We even get a wickedly impressive guitar solo to help cap things off, and it is a treat to hear. This album fucking rules. It knows exactly what it is, it doesn't try to be anything it's not, and it massively succeeds at both those aspects. Nothing about it is bad, everything is good, and if you love death/thrash/doom/chaos metal, you are going to be banging your head until it falls off. Listen to this album RIGHT NOW.