Ossuary - Addicted To Human Flesh

Ossuary - Addicted To Human Flesh

Awakening Records - 2021

6.5/10

For how much time I've spent on old Latin American extreme metal, it's interesting to take a look at something a little more modern. Colombia's Ossuary are a rather prolific death metal act that have been around for a while, putting out five full-lengths in just an eight year span. While they never did much to take the scene by storm, one album made it to my collection a few years ago on a label binge. The third effort titled Addicted To Human Flesh is the name of said album, residing on the cleaner side of the death metal genre.

While nothing is annoyingly polished or anything, I had to emphasize this aspect of the band's sound because of how sharply everything jumps out with such a loud cadence. Tough, chunky riffs make-up much of the foundation, doing little to hold back in terms of speed or strength. Additionally, the bass passages have a strong rumble that nearly creeps up to the forefront, giving this a boost in the rhythmic bottom. Of course, you can expect your guttural vocals to carry a lot of the songwriting, but because of how loud the production is, even those struggle to retain the forefront for much of the record's duration, feeling somewhat one-dimensional even for this style. All of this coming at you at once makes for a clear but overwhelming listen.

With that in mind, it's understandably tough to find parts of Addicted To Human Flesh that really stand out. It doesn't help that lyrically and image wise, it completes a bit of a "by-the-numbers" circle. What's distinct is definitely solid, but much of the songs run together, not uncommon for a typical death metal approach that avoids a lot of flare. But, I won't pretend that this is anything unpleasant if you look past these errors. "The Earth Regurgitates" is a nice slab of explosive passages, utilizing pinch-harmonics rather nicely, and I also dig the bouncy center of "Blinded Fornicator." Otherwise, you basically have to look close to find something that jumps out, maybe a solo here or a riff there. 

As a whole, Ossuary are definitely good at their craft, being an obvious shot at the gore and filth side of the genre, but they could certainly use a little boost to help their identity. Usually I prefer this angle to be a little dirtier, noisier, or cavernous, and all of this might have even come in the newer releases (I have yet to hear those). Every instrument comes through with such clarity that one's volume almost fights with another's, creating a bit of a paradox. Perhaps this is part of why it stagnates quickly, but at least it sits on the shorter end. Nothing truly bad exists here, and it's worth at least one listen to any death metal fanatic, just keep the expectations at bay.