AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: PATHOGENIC — “DEAD BUT NOT AT REST”

Massachusetts-based Pathogenic have been active since 2004, with a discography that includes a pair of albums, a trio of EPs, and a handful of singles, including two released last year. And today we’re helping them spread the word about yet another single, “Dead but Not at Rest,” which comes with an official video.

This new song is described as “a musical foray into the depths of pandemic-induced isolation”. For some of us, those times are already beginning to seem like ancient history, while others may still live with the debilitation and death spawned by the virus (and it’s a history that could easily repeat itself with the rise of a new pathogen). For some of us the dark days had silver linings, while for others it was a sinkhole of disconnection and depression.

In the case of Pathogenic‘s newest single, the eloquent lyrics are harrowing, perhaps finding in the depths of the pandemic a metaphor for other forms of depletion and hopelessness. No silver linings here. The music also has its own harrowing aspects, but turns out to be a multi-faceted experience, an amalgam of melodic and progressive death metal that’s much more electrifying than grim.

photo by Matt Darcy

Backed by the musing murmur of a bass, the song’s introduction is an elegant and beguiling acoustic instrumental that sounds wistful more than gloomy, and as it becomes livelier still, the band segue into much greater heaviness.

The music packs a visceral punch, and the words come in furious howls, roars, and screams, but the fretwork reveals rapidly darting and swirling maneuvers that are just as beguiling as the track’s intro.

Backed by electrifying drum progressions, the guitar and bass vault and veer into even more head-spinning displays of instrumental pyrotechnics. The tempo changes again and again, the moods shift into darker territory, with a brutish breakdown in the mix, and then spins up into an exhilarating frenzy capped by a scintillating solo.

Through it all, the band continue slugging like sledgehammers even as they’re giving listeners’ minds lots of swift spins. And everything holds together beautifully, managing to get stuck in the head despite the songwriting complexity.

As you’ve seen, the video is also very well done, and credit for it goes to Nick and Marissa Court of Killing It Entertainment.

“Dead but Not at Rest” was recorded at Sonic Titan Studios in Turners Falls, Massachusetts, by Apollo Xvii, a former drummer of the classic death metal band Atheist. The single was mixed and mastered by Raymond Marte, drummer and producer of the acclaimed progressive rock band Moon Tooth, who added his expertise and experience to refine the sound and dynamics of the song.

We’re told that Pathogenic are planning to follow up the release of “Dead but Not at Rest” with a series of East Coast live shows, as well as completing their next album, which is expected to be released in 2024.

“Dead but Not at Rest” is available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp. For more information about Pathogenic, visit their Linktree, Facebook page, or Instagram account.

LINKS:
https://linktr.ee/pathogenicmetal
https://www.facebook.com/pathogenicmetal
https://www.instagram.com/pathogenicmetal/

MERCH:
https://pathogenic.bandcamp.com/merch