VISCRAL: “EGOCENTRIC UNDERNEATH OF HORROR”

(Our friend Vonlughlio provides this guest review of the 2015 album by Indonesia’s Viscral.)

Viscral is an Indonesian death metal band that was formed in 2007 in Bekasi. The band line up is Eggi Pradia (vocals), Yogi Praja (drums), Adrel Jatnika (guitar), Dwiky Dzarendrastyo (bass), and Liga Radensha (lead guitar). The band play brutal death metal with influences like Pyaemia, Disavowed, and Suffocation.

In 2012, Viscral released a promo with five songs consisting of older versions of “From Their Carcass Arise”, “External Proletar”, “Pareidolia Haze of Illusory”, “Suffer Resurrection”, and “Worldviews Mechanical”. The promo was not released by a label, but in 2014 Rottrevore Records announced the signing of Viscral and subsequently released Egocentric Underneath Of Horror in 2015.

I found about this band thanks to both Sick Reviews and Force Fed Merchandise. This album is a great mix of death metal and BDM, and you can pick up on that within the structures of the songs; they’re very diverse and display great execution from the musicians. One aspect I’ve enjoyed the most are the vocals, with patterns that fit very well with the music and its combination of DM and Brutal elements.

Another aspect to take into consideration is the level of musicianship; these guys know what they want and play flawlessly. The guitar solos are just perfect and they come up in parts of the songs when you least expect it, which I think is great, adding a surprise element. You can listen clearly to the bass, which has its own moments; I love both how it’s played and the sound. As for the drums, they sound very natural in this production and play an important role in the album — fast and brutal, and slow, at just the right moments within the structure of the songs.

Overall, this is a great BDM release and, while not being as raw as other releases, has a natural sound that gives the music a primitive atmosphere. It takes you back in time to the bands who influenced Viscral into developing this great sound.

Check out the album here at Rottrevore Records Bandcamp:

https://rottrevorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/viscral-egocentric-underneath-of-horror

https://www.facebook.com/VISCRAL/
https://www.facebook.com/rotrecs