Putrescent – Darkness Embraced
Release Date: 6th June 2025
Label: Rotted Life
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal, Death Doom.
FFO: Incantation, Bloodbath, Frozen Soul, Void Rot, Mortiferum, early Gatecreeper.
Review By: Eric Wilt
I’m a sucker for that old school death metal, and Putrescent is delivering it in bone-crushing slabs. Hailing from Los Angeles, CA, and comprised of guitarist and vocalist Dixie Martinez, guitarist Franciso Tobar, bassist Demitree Rivera, and drummer Abraham Garcia, Putrescent is the latest band to exhume the rotting corpse of old-school death metal and reanimate it with 21st century fury.
Fans of the crypt dwelling forefathers of the genre like Incantation, Deicide, Autopsy and the like, will find much to sink their teeth into on Darkness Embraced. While Putrescent has no doubt taken inspiration from several of the old masters, they seem to take the most inspiration from death-doom dealers Incantation, as they blend death and doom to create a sickeningly satisfying concoction. Songs like Darkness Embraced and Inhuman Infestation show the band at their blast-driven best, while Obscure Putrescent Growls of Death and the nearly nine-minute Black Ceremony show that Putrescent knows how to slow things down in service of the song.
I really can’t say enough good things about Putrescent because this is the stuff that got me into death metal in the first place, and I’m always searching for the next band to give me a fix. Darkness Embraced is another reminder that death metal’s grave is never truly sealed, and if the old school is your thing, this album is made for you.
(5 / 5)
