ATARAXY - Rotten Shit (BLACK MASS Records - LP 2012)
I have my personal top three of the Spanish death metal: Graveyard, Morbid Flesh and Ataraxy. Each one of these bands have an impressive list of recordings and I can only recommend them all, because if you like that old school death metal, slightly flavoured with the Swedish style of Dismember, then this will also be your kind of shit. Every time I listen to any of these bands, this is just great pleasure. And now it’s time for the last of the three bands I mentioned. Ataraxy debuted in 2009 with a demo “Rotten Shit”, which back in 2012 was released also on vinyl by Black Mass Records. And well, this is definitely a mandatory release and a great demo from this band.
You'll find there five songs, which unleash pure, devastating death metal hell, right from the very first second. No intro, no time wasted, they just get to the point right away with “Towards the Inquisitor's Pyre”. And you’ll get crushed with a killer savage death metal, played in very harsh, primeval, kind of archaic form, reminiscent of old Scandinavian scene (both Finnish and Swedish), but without really concentrating much on the melodic or atmospheric side of it, but more on the vicious and aggressive riffage. Which is why songs like “Sickening on Hatred” kick so hard and mercilessly. Maybe Ataraxy wasn’t the most impressive band to come up with that sort of old school death metal (at that time, at least), but they definitely had enough good ideas and riffs to come up with more than just a solid demo. I definitely enjoy that “rotten”, harsh sound of it, grinding riffs, sick vocals and the overall uncompromising feel of this music. Plenty of fast tempos, occasional slower parts, and just enough of that powerful, raw sound to force me to play this vinyl several times in a row and loud as I only can.
Mind also that the vinyl edition contains a bonus CDR, released by the band, with five songs from the future recordings (debut album and EP), which definitely is a nice, collectable addition to the record.
Standout track: “Sickening on Hatred”
Verdict: 75/100
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