Review by Denis on December 31, 2002.

Having indulged myself quite extremely with some Black Metal fantasies, I almost forgot how beautiful and sophisticated Gothic Metal could be. Luckily, Penumbra came to my rescue to reminds me all that I loved so much in this type of artistic expression. Let Penumbra echoing in your brain and flow through your veins. Let your heart beat to their emotions and be invaded by sheer excitement and pleasures.

Formed in 1996 by Dorian (guitars) and Jarlaath (vocals and oboe), Penumbra grew up to a full band of eight musicians. This French act released a first album in 1999 "Emanate" which sold over 6000 copies. In 2000, they signed with Season of Mist and embark on a journey of amazing Gothic experiences and realizations. The current line up is, besides the two founding members, Krysten, the charming female singer, Néo on guitars, Zoltan as Mr. keyboards, Agon on bass and Garlic on drums. The grandiose symphonic ambiance is created by a superb choir of eight vocalists and a classical string quartet. This magical opus was mixed by producer Terje Refnes (Sins of Thy Beloved, Tristania) to bring the sound to the sky. The sophistication of today's Gothic beauty is awaiting to make you taste all of its luxury. Let your ears enjoy the abundance of flavors prepared by those masters of beauty. Here the past meets the present, bringing former opponents into a future of warm embraces.

The wonders in this album are too numerous to be all described but I will give you now even more reasons to get this opus. Right from the beginning, Penumbra overwhelms you with all their colors: great symphonic orchestrations, heavy riffs, superb choirs, multiple vocal expressions, beautiful melodic lines, and intricate and progressive musical phrases. Even if it has an opening song's name called 'Neutral', you just can't stay neutral with all that this song is offering. The diversity of the vocals are ranging from Death/Black to angelic opera female singer. Male and female spoken words are used as well. Some parts are with clean male vocals. The choirs are simply fantastic and the combination of all these genres is brilliant. Everything is well balanced and has its own reason for existing. The mixture of heavy versus symphonic is in perfect harmony. The moods that flow through the compositions are as varied as they could possibly be. Sometimes exhilarating, sometimes totally dramatic or romantic but never dull. The tempo shift from calm and ambient to mid pace and even in some occasions becomes pretty fast with great progression. Many gorgeous instrumental interludes are waiting to charm you. Specific highlights are hard to come up with all those brilliants songs but by trying harder, I came up with this list: 'Neutral', 'Testament', 'The Young Martyr' and 'A Torrent of Fears'.

Bottom Line: Even if still a young star, Penumbra shines so brightly to illuminate our darkened souls.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9.5
Atmosphere: 10
Originality: 9
Production: 10
Overall: 9.5

Rating: 9.6 out of 10

Review by Alex on December 22, 2020.

Something special happens when traditional death metal and grindcore merge; can't put it into words but for brevity let's say the results and final outcome are just incredible. Finland are no newcomers to death metal, heck they pretty much are the head honchos for old school death/doom so I would have expected no less in quality from the band in discussion today and more so the album they just shat-out from the bowels of the region. Anthropophagy is Sadistic Drive's first full length album following a compilation put out in 2019. 'Nasty shit' as someone I know had described the material when asked their thoughts after referencing Anthropophagy. Spot on description of the music waiting to blemish your white shirt and matching pants; Anthropophagy sounds like human waste running through and pouring out of your local underground sewer-system. Sick, ugly, just yuck........

I'll keep this one as short as I can to avoid puking on myself. Anthropophagy offers 10 grotesque pieces stinking with the canker of years old decay and from the time the first stick is thrown unto the drum kit and the first riff pours and the first vocal note is belched, the message arrives with sound clarity that Sadistic Drive have every intention of not just living up to their band name but offering music that is reminiscent of the death/grind scene around 89-91. First menacing piece comes in the form of a track called 'Serial Cleaner' following its opening spoken sample; and indeed 'one by one' it got us all. Falling over like a nerd for the hottest looking (disease riddled) chick in the class that has been fucked more than the american taxpayer by every guy and his granddad, this tune has got the curves, the tits, ass and hole death/grind possessed at the dawning of its era. Guitar licks that smear the slush, vocals that sound as though someone is regurgitating soup spoilt for a week and drumming that sounds like some sicco is splashing around jovially in liquefied defecation. This track brings the ugliness of the era and it only gets better as time progresses.

'Internal Putrefaction' and 'Acid Vomit', two more twisted yet delicious death/grind tracks, short and to the point as they should be. No filler, just serious, hitman-style work conducted on the listener. Lots of groovy transitions, mid-paced to high-octane, uptempo blast beats and riffing both memorable and craze inducing. The vocals are dynamic to a degree whereby a sort of snarl would be used in connection with a deep guttural and mid-ranged yell. Some parts on the album are also very sporadic mainly in the faster grindcore moments such as on 'Worm Eaten Abomination' (in which you also get a bit of death/doom) and 'Disease Ridden Pervert' that features my favorite drum section on the album nearing its end after that sinister bit of laughter.

Because the tracks are so short you're kept at the height of interest provided there's always something there happening that is different. Heading down to 'Ferox (Victim of Anthropophagous Tribe)' and 'Body Part Puzzle' it becomes hard to not want to play Anthropophagy again due to so much being tossed at you within this short 27 minute span. Plus those two songs exploit the momentum of previous highlights that in turn manage to bring the album to a worthy conclusion. Probably heard Anthropophagy more than 10 times in a single stretch and still finding new stuff there every time. One of 2020's hidden gems; or in this case, hidden germs.

Rating: 8.7 out of 10