Cenotaph – Putrescent Infectious Rabidity

Up until this album, I was unable to get into Cenotaph. In terms of musical skill, they were impressive, but in terms of songwriting, they were disorganized and aimless. That all changed with the release of Putrescent Infectious Rabidity.

For the longest time, Batu Çetin's growls were rather hoarse and took away from the brutality. On this album, they're extremely deep and guttural, as though he were gargling on a bucket of innards. He also performs these screams that add a bit more variety to the music. The drums are handled by Lille Gruber, the drummer for Defeated Sanity, and he is the most perfect fit imaginable. Unlike most slam bands, Cenotaph does more than the typical “blast blast blast”. There are an insane amount of complex fills on this album, and the unorthodox rhythms bring the music a great deal more flavor.

Personally, my favorite part of this album is the guitar. Most slam bands go for the simple “chug chug chug” riffs. Cenotaph's riffs are more intricate and angular but they still have a decent amount of groove and plenty of pinch harmonics. Another thing that sets Cenotaph from the rest of the pack is that although they play really fast, they're not afraid to slow things down. They know that there's more to death metal than playing as fast and aggressively as possible. Sometimes, playing slow creates the most terror, such as at the halfway point of “Gorenographic Pervert Victimology”. The slow section builds up tension and anticipation for the cranium-crushing gravity blast to follow. But if you ask me, the best song is the last song. The slow rhythm combined with the evil riffs create an atmosphere that is utterly disturbing.

Allow me to explain Cenotaph like this. Most slam bands are like a McDonald's burger. This album is like one of those fancy burgers you get at a homestyle restaurant. The kind of burger that has an enormous patty and a truckload of toppings. Man, I'm getting hungry. My point is Cenotaph plays a brand of slam that is complex and interesting, and if you don't pick up Putrescent Infectious Rabidity, then you're really missing out.