TARDUS MORTEM is a Death Metal foursome out of Glamsbjerg, Denmark. They specialize in a discordant atmospheric rendering of their art that is lo-fi, chaotic, and dark as a moldy tomb strewn with putrefied flesh and a fist full of teeth. On May 28, 2021, they released their debut full-length album, "Engulfed in Pestilent Darkness" on vinyl (100 copes) and digitally. It was originally recorded in 2019 and released at that time via cassette tape.

Like the album artwork by John Martin, this album will make you question your life choices and put you in the mood for a deeply sanitizing shower and maybe even some sort of confession. My favorite part of the album was reading through the song titles which, of course, are just teasers to the elaborate lyrics which fortify each track. This is some serious writing going down. Altogether, the album comprises eight weighty tracks, half of them extending past the seven-minute mark.

Standout tracks are the title track, "Engulfed in Pestilent Darkness." The multi-channel riffage of this track has a weird circular inertia. There is also a crazed Frippian solo which tags out to another solo that just shreds. The three-guitar assault really plays out on this track. I also liked "It Comes from the Darkened Obscurity" for its Doom tinges and again a solo that sounds like Robert Fripp on LSD in some sort of Lovecraftean hellscape. Third on my list is "The Conclusion of Non-Existence (Embracing the Infinite Nothingness)" which is another brutal barrage of down-tuned Death played at a tempo which should come with an epilepsy seizure warning.

I know I said "lo-fi" in reference to the mix and mastering of this album. In this case "lo-fi" should not be confused with "bad." The production values seem very intentional, and while the dbs levels are always buried in the red and the distortion is sometimes ridiculous, there is still clear separation and well-balanced layering. This iteration of "Engulfed in Pestilent Darkness" is a stunning article of the darkest of metals. It certainly isn't for everyone, and that's okay. Extreme metal is like extreme hot sauce - people who can appreciate it have an expanded palate and can actually partake more of what the world, and below, has to offer.