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FATHOMLESS RITUAL
Hymns For The Lesser Gods

Transcending Obscurity (2024)
Rating: 8/10

For those of you who may be familiar with death metal acts such as Pukewraith, Gutvoid and Fumes, may I point you in the direction of this multicoloured miasma of mulch. The connection between all these bands is Mr. B. Dean, a talented chap from Toronto in Canada who can now add Fathomless Ritual to his repulsive roster.

Channelling Demilich, Mr. Dean – first name Brendan – crafts great putrefying chunks of dizzying death metal that are both technical and grinding. If you dig atmospheric death metal like Tomb Mold then you’ll find much slime n’ grime to revel in here, and if you dig deep enough into the sodden layers of this release you’ll find a surprising amount of groove-based technicality.

Over the last few years the death metal genre has taken a more scenic path alongside a psychedelic depravity, and Mr. Dean is very much involved in such tumultuous yet surreal torrents. The structures within this fascinating slab of creepy architecture nod towards Carcass, Wharflurch, Mortiferim and the previously mentioned Demilich. Tracks such as ‘Gelatinous Being Of Countless Forms’ and ‘Wielding The Bone Wand’ fit and spit like rancid entities fornicating in a pool of bloody mud.

Everything drips with a miasmic, kaleidoscopic gore, but while Fathomless Ritual is happy to peddle through those murky swamps there’s no sign of instrumental clogging. The clanking groove on ‘Cosmic Reflections From The Basin Of Blood’ is a joy to behold as once again the Demilich influence comes to the fore. The same could also be said for the infectious ‘Gorge Of The Nameless’ and my favourite monstrosity ‘Gifts For Aranaktu’ that comes drizzled with a wild solo.

I could easily see Fathomless Ritual merging for a split release with UK maniacs Cryptworm because this is some serious surrealism – a phantasmagoric whirlwind of parti-coloured perversion.

Neil Arnold

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