Review by Brian on November 18, 2014.

Coming off two amazing releases, 2011's The Tunnels and 2013's The Purging, Terra Tenebrosa released the V.I.T.R.I.O.L. - Purging the Tunnels EP earlier this year. The EP consists of left over recordings from those sessions. Staying pretty consistent with those releases, V.I.T.R.I.O.L. maintains the nightmarish eclectic sound that the band is known for.

The 2 song EP begins with "Draining the Well". Clocking in at nearly 18 minutes it feels like 3 songs in 1. It begins in the traditional Terra Tenebrosa style, black metal-ish guitar work drenched in reverb and delay reminiscent of Blut Aus Nord's masterpiece The Work Which Transforms God. However, Terra Tenebrosa is darker, creepier and more disorienting if you can believe that. At around the 6 minute mark of the track it transitions into a terrifying, atmospheric blend of sounds that is sure to induce nightmares. At 11 minutes in it breaks into a sludgy, slow moving riff that buries you beneath the weight of the heavy crushing bass. Of course throughout all of this are the layered vocal stylings of The Cuckoo. This was the last song they recorded at their old studio, so this may be the transformation of the band as they step into a new studio and a different direction.

The other track "Apokatastasis" actually adds a little post rock vibe to the mix. It has an uptempo and rather catchy drum beat that it retains through out the first 5 minutes of the 7 minute track. That beat is accompanied by single note picking guitars. The last 2 minutes of the song reintroduce that heavy sludgy bass feel from the previous track. I can see why this was left over as it wouldn't have fit on either of the first two albums.

Terra Tenebrosa is a special band. They are truly original and defy categorization. There are black metal elements, hints of post rock, progressive touches and sludgy riffs on V.I.T.R.I.O.L.. - Purging the Tunnels. The title of this release is appropriate as well. The Cuckoo stated that these tracks that were left over mark the end of this phase in the bands career, this release is a way of wiping the slate clean and moving forward. Open up your mind and take what this band has to offer. In an era where cloning by new bands and regurgitating material from established bands is all too common in metal, Terra Tenebrosa are a breath of fresh air.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Elijah on January 16, 2020.

Just like the review I did for A Blood Clot Ejaculation, pretty much everything is the same on this record too. Clean production, good songwriting, a deep and heavy feel, slams galore, etc. etc. Just another good release that's as great as the band's first album.

There's nothing much to say at all, as this is a carbon copy of the last album, just with different songs. This time the lineup is listed with an actual drummer, but it still has a drum programming area listed, so I don't know whether any actual drums are being played here, so whatever, doesn't matter. Pretty much the only difference is that this album has more slams. The last album had more of a faster feel, but Deformity of Human Consciousness is more slammy. It has more slam riffs than the last album, and more songs open up with pure slams.

Compared to the band's previous debut, this album features some slower stuff and obviously more slams. Almost every single song on this album opens up with a slam riff, or a slam riff over some drums, and they're slow and perfect. This album is also more experimental and random as well. They throw in some traditional Chinese stuff in there, the vocals are slightly more expansive, and they just do what they want here with stuff. On the last album it was just song after song focusing more on the actual music rather than experimentation and randomness, which this album tends to focus on more.

Some other differences/new things are the Korn cover they did of 'Faget', it's cool and interesting. Not bad at all for a slam cover of a nu metal song. It sounds just like the original song but with heavier drums and slam vocals. The other thing is the poppy-electronic song on here; 'Electric Shock (Remix)'. I don't know where this one came from, but it isn't bad at all. It's just riffing with an electronic beat backing it up, it isn't bad like some people think it'd be, it's actually pretty cool, I enjoy it.

This album is just as great and awesome as the last one. There's not really much difference except for what I already said above, but that doesn't matter, it doesn't affect the album from being generally good, not at all.

So yeah, just another awesome album by this band. There's subtle to no changes in comparison to the band's debut. Just another good ass record by this band.

Rating: 10 out of 10