Paroxsihzem – S/T
The reverb envelops and consumes the de-tuned/cavernous riffage carved out by Toronto’s Paroxsihzem to produce an almost hypnotic swarm of lo-fi death on the bands debut full-length album. The equally abysmal death moans of vocalist Krag point to their obvious appreciation of Incantation, though Paroxsihzem introduce enough of their own twisted darkness into these songs giving them a similar penchant for the old school, but this album ends up adopting a far more evil persona. Tracks like “Deindividuation” pervert with atypical tremolo based riff ideas that are strangely memorable, but churn in an uneasy style that feels unstable (in a good way) in that they were possibly crafted by unstable people. Probably not, but one at times likes to think that their music may be a little less safe than it really is. Your standard power chords contort into dissonant bends as found on the bizarre “Tsirhcitna”, made to sound even more avant-garde by this bands seemingly pulsating drum style. It is rock in feel with a swing that ushers in the crushing movement, yet there are these pointed blasts used as accents that feel oddly unique even though the drummer is obviously utilizing many common techniques within the death metal realm. Movie dialog samples creep in and strike me as an element not used as much or as effectively these days, further setting Paroxsihzem apart from many other bands that may share a similar mission statement when it comes to death metal. It is obvious that Paroxsihzem are comfortable with DM the old way stylistically, but strive to create some of the darkest anthems they can within this very live/stripped down sounding album. Certainly nothing new on display here, but Paroxsihzem do everything right and most importantly, create menacing songs that I find myself coming back to often. Enjoyable and ugly metal of death! I wouldn’t expect it any other way coming from Dark Descent. -Marty
Dark Descent Records
Worm Gear 