As you may have noticed if you’ve been slumming at our putrid site this week, we’re in the midst of rolling out our list of last year’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs. But even this early in the new year we’re beginning the task of assembling candidates for the 2023 list for a year from now — and the song you’re about to hear has jumped on it with both lead-shod feet.
“Pathology Calls” by German death metal band Magefa (named for a Hebrew word meaning plague) is a catchy musical monster in several respects, but the grabbiest part is probably the brutal jackhammer groove that opens the track and then continues to pump heads like pistons every time it re-surfaces. But yes, there’s more…
The band also kick into a bracing gallop, which itself punches hard, and they embellish that pulse-pounding surge with squirming fretwork that make it sound fiendishly gleeful. Brazen chords rise up in a display of ghoulish imperiousness, and spurts of tremolo’d riffage create frightening feeding frenzies of savagery. Meanwhile, the song draws extra attention thanks to nimble bass contortions, varying drum patterns, and a woozy and screaming solo.
Equally vital to the song’s malignant appeal are the bestial vocals, which range from gut-gouging growls to livid howls and ghastly screeches, but also manage to enunciate the gruesome lyrics with striking clarity. As for the lyrics, which you’ll see as well as hear in the accompanying video, they tell a morbid tale of metastasizing tumors and the horrors of their removal.
“Pathology Calls” is being released tomorrow (January 6th) as a single. The band explain that it was written and based on the day job of the band’s lead guitarist/singer Kevin as surgery assistant for patients with brain tumors and remote chances of survival. “The music developed in the rehearsal room, starting with a riff and adding ideas of the band members to make a full song.”
This song is the latest release in a career inspired by the likes of Carcass, Cannibal Corpse, and Death that now includes a 2016 demo (A Peek Into Human Bodies), a 2019 EP (New Era Of Darkness), another EP in 2021 (Exenteration), a 2022 single named “Back To The Front” that was released digitally in support of Ukraine in their war against Russia, and another 2022 single named “Overdose“.
You can find everything since the demo on Bandcamp and most other streaming services, and that’s where you’ll find “Pathology Calls” by tomorrow.
STREAM/DOWNLOAD:
https://magefa.bandcamp.com/track/pathology-calls
PRE-SAVE:
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/magefa/pathology-calls
MAGEFA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Website: https://www.magefa.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/magefametal
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Magefametal/