Artwork: TONY KOEHL
Echoes of Depravity is the second full-length from Californian outfit Parasitic Ejaculation.
The band has also released a considerable amount of material on splits or demos.
It seems as though every member of Parasitic Ejaculation has mastered their individual craft and, over time, have coalesced into a rather original brutal death/slam band, in a world that has been over-saturated with copies and copies of whatever people think sounds the most brutal. Well, Echoes of Depravity not only provides soundscapes far beyond 'brutal', but it is a much-welcome retreat from the boredom that has become Brutal Death Metal.
I could sit here and write about how the subtle nuances of the guitar playfully frolic with the blasts and how I wished the bass was a little further forward in the mix. In fact, I have written many a review in that ilk. They are fun to write and you can easily get away with sounding like you are smart. Truth is, I am as smart as the next genius, and I'll just say it like I hear it; Echoes of Depravity is the best and grossest splat of (infected) jizz from Parasitic Ejaculation thus far, and possibly of the year.
Jonathan Neel commands full attention and displays the most improvement from previous efforts. The range of his vocals throughout this album is wide enough to have you wondering if it's all him even when it is. There are a couple guest vocalists though. Bill Foster (Short Bus Pile Up), and Jeremy Scott (Logistic Slaughter) both appear on the album, i just won't tell you where.
Michael Mostachetti's riffing on the guitar is simply the catchiest shit of 2014. Parts of this album have some very, very experimental guitar work. As always, one of my favorite aspects of this group, is the shaky, powerful bass tone coming from bassist Josh Schwartz. It is also perfectly mixed in to let each stroke, pluck, or slap be heard with ease. The dude has chops. Donovan Dettle, drums, stays simple at times and then gets very creative at others, something becoming harder to find. Nothing is out of place and songs flow very well together.
Production has taken an obvious step forward, which may lead some fans astray. I mean, after-all, if you appreciate a band's production sound past their first release, you aren't raw. You're fully-cooked. What?
The clarity of the production here only aids the listener in hearing all the details in the music.
Also amazing are the lyrics!! The lyrics are incredibly well thought-out, evil, disgusting, and just fun to read! When you read along while listening, you really get to see how good this vocalist is.
That being said, I will take this time to tell the band to please rename "Parasitic Spinal Mutation" to "P.R.E.A.M."
The passion is there. Buy this album.
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