PAROXSIHZEM - Paroxsihzem (HELLTHRASHER - LP 2013)
Paroxsihzem… damn, I try and try, but I just
couldn’t pronounce this word at all. My tongue keeps breaking somewhere at the
letters “hz-em”… Damn Canadians nowadays really like to play with us, creating
such unbelievably unique and difficult band names like Mitochondrion and Antediluvian.
But definitely so far Paroxsihzem (this name comes from the word paroxysm - a
sudden recurrence or attack of a disease; a sudden worsening of symptoms) is
the worst (still better than the name of Mexican Paracoccidioidomicosisproctitissarcomucosis
hehehe!). Anyway, Paroxsihzem from Canada started with a couple of demos, then
sold their souls to Dark Descent Records and “Paroxsihzem” is their debut full
length. What I have here though is actually the freshly released vinyl version
of this album, which Polish Hellthrasher Productions unleashed in June. And
well, speaking of the quality of this vinyl I can only praise the label for
doing a killer work. Great quality, superb gatefold, amazing graphics and
layout and the limited to 100 copies killer blue splatter vinyl… can you desire
anything more? Well, for sure it would be nice if the music was also such
awesome. In case of “Paroxsihzem” I can say that I quite like the music, but at
the same time I expected something more crushing and in result I feel not 100%
impressed as I wished.
The main problem with “Paroxsihzem”, which I
have, lies in the production of this album. It just gives me a small headache,
as I think it really was fucked up. The whole sound is muddy and chaotic, which
itself may not really be the problem, but I am talking about the guitars, which
have some sort of reverb, which pisses me off, really. It almost sounds like the
band was playing inside of the huge chamber or cathedral and the sound was echoing
within these walls, bouncing off them and coming back to you like an echo…
Sorry, but it really doesn’t sound right to me and only disturbs, creates more
confusion and chaos than it underlines the atmosphere of the music. It could
have been done better definitely, especially as the guitar tone on its own is
fine and fits the style of music, which Paroxsihzem performs, perfectly. I
usually try not to moan much about the production values, unless they’re really
terrible, and in case of “Paroxsihzem” it is not terrible, just disappointing,
as if the album didn’t have that reverb it would sound just better. Hmm, maybe
it is just a matter of taste… find out yourself what do you think about it. I
feel like it was destroying the experience of listening to the music.
From the strictly musical point of view Paroxsihzem
performs an utterly massive, dark, morbid and gloomy death metal… very much
influenced by the cult of Incantation, but the band is also quite often
compared to the two Canadian bands, which I already mentioned before -
Mitochondrion and Antediluvian, as well as to Portal. I think that all these
comparisons are quite right; all bands have a lot in common and all create that
gloomy, obscure, ghoulish atmosphere in their totally brutal and filthy music.
When I listen to “Paroxsihzem” the music really creates almost a claustrophobic
and suffocating feeling, like the walls of a tomb or coffin were just getting
closer and closer as you’re slowly running out of the air. These riffs are just
damn heavy and massive, whether the band plays some doomy, creepy parts or
fastens the music in some truly insane, bestial and evil songs… Sadly that wall
of sound makes a chaotic feeling, with some rather unreadable riffs and more
so, sometimes I almost couldn’t hear the drums, especially the snare drum.
Luckily at least the deep, ghoulish growling of Krag, similar to Craig
Pillard’s, is well audible.
But I keep listening to “Paroxsihzem” and I
somehow couldn’t 100% convince myself to it. Hmm, the problem is that – maybe
due to that muddy production and reverb – after listening to the album few
times I still couldn’t remember the songs or particular riffs, the music is
quite chaotic and it just isn’t able to fully capture my attention and excite
me, as much as I would like it to. I keep blaming the production for it, but
probably the songwriting on “Paroxsihzem” also isn’t the most thrilling and
impressive; it is slid and all right, but nothing more to that and for sure it
doesn’t match the quality of bands like Disma, Ingnivomous, Father Befouled,
etc. I praise the band for ability to create great sick, dark and morbid
atmosphere, for that asphyxiating feeling, but I just think that the whole
music lacks some spark, which would ablaze the fuckin place in second. So, the
album is only decent, but not quite as thrilling yet. At least I cannot say
that Paroxsihzem is any better than the bands, which I mentioned in this
review. But for sure if you’re into this sick music then “Paroxsihzem” may be a
good offer for you – it will drain into your brain until you feel pain and
discomfort. In this case I recommend you getting the vinyl, as it is just
perfectly released.
Standout tracks: sorry, I just couldn’t mention
one; none of them really stayed in my mind for longer
Final rate: difficult, but I give it 70/100
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