South Wales, U.K. is home to a putrid and a rancid Death Metal band that call themselves VENOM PRISON and they are out to castrate and devour everything in their path. Formed in the year 2014, the band released a demo in the year 2015 and followed it up with an EP in the same year. "Animus", their debut full-length album was released in the year 2016, via Prosthetic Records to rave reviews and critical acclaim. The idea of the band came when Ash Gray and Larissa Stupar wanted to get together and create a Death Metal band. The band play an extremely violent brand of Metal and has been the break out Metal act of the year 2016. The lyrics for the tracks have been mostly influenced by Larissa Stupar's personal struggles and her political leanings as well as songs about mental health issues and fascism. The band intends to write and record a follow up album, as well as tour the U.S.

The album opens out with "Syllogism", a spoken word narration set to a gloomy sludge melody. As you wait for the introductions to be done with, "Abysmal Agony" comes on and starts pulverizing right from the gate. Demonic wails of the lead vocalist set to groove filled guitar riff make this a song a kicker of a start. The latter half of the song is punctuated by a rapid riff that speeds up the song to its eventual end. "Desecration of the Human Privilege" is a short song that starts off mid tempo and has odd melodies. Hard-hitting riffs coupled with diabolical singing make this song the stand out song for me. The track is dripping with groove riffs and even though it is a slightly slower track, it doesn't relent in the heaviness department. "Corrode the Black Sun" is another track that sounds very heavy in the groove department at the beginning. The track hurls itself at blistering pace in places and slowing down in parts to paint a desolate soundscape to almost sound like a Doom Metal song. The song ends with an acoustic passage that is haunting and the acoustic intro works well for the song. "Immanetize Eschaton" follows soon after and is a slower paced song than its fiery predecessors. The brooding song is just shy of 5 minutes in run time and the variation is a surprising break from the tempo the album kept up. "Devoid" is again a sluggish track and chugs along wickedly at sedate pace. The track does not let up in heaviness and towards the latter half of the track, the melody picks up pace before returning to its sludge filled lumbering riff. The album ends out with "Womb Forced Animus" and it starts out with clean spoken words before familiar diabolical vocals jump in the fray. The track takes the foot off the pedal, with regards to the energy; the band builds up in the tracks that came before but they more than make up for it by weighty riffs and woe filled atmosphere.

The band has come up with an absolute brutal album that will resonate well with fans of Death Metal. There are elements of Hardcore, as well as Doom Metal, infused in the tracks. Groove Metal riffs are a plenty and the lead vocals are possessed. The album does not let up in its viciousness and the sheer brutality of the album is astounding. The band means business and it won't be a surprise when they explode upon the world with their brand of savage Death Metal. <