Review by Vladimir on December 16, 2023.

When it comes to modern day death metal bands, I often feel very skeptical to check any of them out, but when some of them are recommended by either friends or colleagues, you can’t help but let it go and see for yourself. Case and point here is Cesspool of Corruption from Dallas, Texas, and to kick things off, I’ll be covering their independent debut EP Eradication of the Subservient, released on August 27th, 2016. 

The kind of death metal that Cesspool of Corruption dabbles in is very brutal, fast and over the top in a positive way, from extreme riffs that vary between technical, thrashy and tremolo picking, to the dynamic drumming and deep guttural vocals with shrieking backing vocals that is a common trait with modern death metal bands. Their songs often include very technical guitar solos that have both a bit of sweep picking and melody in them, however they do tend to vary from one song to another. Besides the band’s overall extreme expression with such intensity in their performance, there is also a bit of atmosphere in some sections that radiate the oldschool vile and wicked death metal energy which I am quite fond of. Although the songwriting is a very big mix of ideas from technical to primitive, I do actually like what is going on for the most part, without there being a moment where my ears feel exhausted from hearing too much stuff all at once. It is often hard for me to listen to a modern death metal release without feeling like vomiting from overall distaste towards the output or like I was overfeed from the riffs, especially if it’s highly technical. I actually think that the songs are effective in terms of their general execution, with some banger tunes like “Eradication of the Subservient” being a stand out that I really liked in particular. I also like the representational cover art by Indonesian artist MFA XII, portraying an eldritch being from the depths that is ready to devour the military and the rest of the human civilization, which in my opinion is a very legitimate way how I would experience Cesspool of Corruption’s music. The sound production is pretty hardcore in terms of its guitar and drum sound, on the verge of causing the world around you to fall apart. 

Although this kind of death metal is not my cup of tea, I did not feel like I was feeling sick or completely unamused with what was going on for the most part, and I must say that Cesspool of Corruption really does know their craft. Their music certainly feels well-balanced with a clear sense of musical direction, which can be often troublesome for most death metal bands that end up being rather generic and uninspiring to listen to. If you are into modern death metal, feel free to check this one out, you might enjoy it. 

Rating: 7.5 out of 10