Plasmoptysis - Breeds of the Malevolence (2010)

So here is one I needed to look up.

Plasmoptysis apparently refers to 'the bursting forth of protoplasm from a cell through rupture of the cell wall', and I can actually cede the fact that, while offering nothing new, this young Indonesian band seems true to their name, because there is some serious rupturing going on with this debut, enough that it feels like someone carving through your intestines with a hot, filthy knife, bacteria beginning to converge upon your now public viscera. Aside from this, we've got another of a million death squads that follow the trials of USDM legends like Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse, and Immolation while not ignoring the modern 'slamming' death sound that so many bands out there espouse these days.

I should point out, though, in the band's defense, they rarely if ever break into something huge and stupid, preferring instead for a very pinpoint, percussive speed in which the riffs curve and collide with one another, almost like a hyper thrash metal sauteed in Argha Riyan's blunt edged death grunts. These guys enjoy playing fast, and they write just enough interesting material to give the songs that surgical quality that I enjoy with my morning cup of brutality. Unfortunately, while tracks like "Edan Maneh", "Carnage" and "The New Age of Human Putrefaction" hit like a ton of bricks being fed at your face from a pitching machine, the tempo often feels so similar that you feel like you're listen to one mega, guttural force that is merely chopped off at the ends of certain entrails to create sausage links of slaughter. When the band deviates, such as the great riff that opens "Devouring the Banished Mortal Remains" or the curious if spastic "Dasamuka", I found myself starting to bang my head that much more.

There are other minor details I like about this band, like the cool logo and cover art, as well as the great dark ambient intro "A Putrescent Inception". I also like the drum sound a lot, often the cymbals will crash off like a panning effect and it's quite cool. But the album as a whole did not tear my spine out of my back and step on it. Plasmoptysis are a decent band, and it will be interesting to hear how they develop, for there is enough potential here to take the extreme death scene by force if they can just hone in on the songwriting a little further.

Highlights: The New Age of Human Putrefaction, Devouring the Banished Mortal Remains, Dasamuka

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/plasmoptysis