Memento Mori - 2022
7.5/10
The Spanish death metal act Intolerance sold me on their 2020 EP titled Laments From The Dripstone Cave, making me take immediate interest in the debut full length Dark Paths Of Humanity. As the cover art and title would suggest, they avoid the gore and guts and stick to abyssal absence of life. Focusing on reality and hellish experience, they convey their message with a clearer slate.
Tone-wise, there’s an odd hint of buzziness in the guitars that carry a lot of the weight, feeling far sharper than the contradicting throaty vocals. Combining these two often yields unique outcomes, however the vocals go a little too overboard in the mix, sometimes causing the two to compete in an awkward fashion. Thankfully, neither are projected poorly individually, and the casual high-pitched shriek tends to correct this. “Death Before Slavery” paints our picture wonderfully, wielding grooves to the core with sharp rhythm handoffs.
Speaking of grooves, the timing of the drum kicks alongside them make all of the difference on Dark Paths Of Humanity. “Flagellation” borders on galloping territory thanks to the percussion pattern itself as well as the tuning of the snare. It isn’t often that death metal sports this kind of presentation. The explosive nature in general adds so much life to what is otherwise rather predictable. Ultimately, I think I still prefer the EP from 2020, but this is a promising offering that managed to be mostly worthwhile in its quick visit.
Listen -> Bandcamp
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