With their debut album, Entering the Gateways, Disguised Malignance assert themselves as a young death metal band to follow, offering up old-school sensibilities with a modern vibe.
At eight songs and 34 minutes in length, Entering the Gateways is a well-paced album that takes a base layer of OSDM and embellishes it with doomy, technical and brutal flourishes. At no point does the album ever go full on with any of these subgenre labels but they certainly help to break things up, like on “Unearthly Extinction” or album closer/”title track” “Beyond (Entering the Gateways).”
Disguised Malevolence have a lot going for them, so we got in touch with the young Finns to get a track-by-track breakdown of their new album, courtesy of vocalist Felix Pennanen. Press play and keep on reading, then order the album via Prosthetic.
- ”Gates To Nihil” was the first song written for the album, and it works as an unadorned introduction to the atmosphere to Entering The Gateways. It throws the listener into an unrelenting voyage drenched in twisted and nihilistic hellscapes and continues on to introduce spacious and grand undertones which will be a recurrent theme throughout the album.
- ”Confined” is one of the most aggressive tracks on the album while maintaining an infectious sense of groove. The combination of sick riffage, ontological lyrics and overall pulverizing aggression result in a prime example of the gloomy and unearthly yet catchy style of death metal that is Entering The Gateways.
- ”Unearthly Extinction” is a ferocious, subtly melodic and groovy journey enhanced with tasteful lead-guitar work. The erratic twists in groove and feel amplify the intensity of the song and makes up for a brutal, frenzied yet hooking banger.
- ”The Fading Path Of Existence” starts off with a ceremonial and psychotic intro, after which the pounding, brutal feel continues and sends the listener into a whirlwind of fast thrashing and slamming mid-pace parts while roaring vocals deliver lyrics about the ill-natured human mind and its consequences.
- ”Malignant Visions” as the lead single of the album delivers some of the catchiest riffs on the album, while not ceasing to maintain the cold, grim and surreal atmosphere of Finnish death metal. The synth outro of this song does not only deepen the vibe of the track, but also marks a point on the album at which keyboards and synths are introduced to further enhance the atmosphere of the album.
- ”Remnants Of Serenity” is a fast-paced, melodic and expansive song with a ritualistic, chanting hook and an aura known from the legends of gloomy 90s death metal.
- ”Disengagement Into Eternity” is the longest and most progressive song on the album, with influences reaching out from classic death metal to layered psychedelia in the spatial middle-section of the track. These elements work together in a complementary fashion, resulting in an ethereal, esoteric and intense voyage.
- ”Beyond (Entering The Gateways)” concludes the album in a frigid, unsettling and bleak tone. After frantic time changes, pummeling double bass and crooked bass-work, drowning guitar harmonies lead the listener towards, and beyond the inner gateways.
