Computer science provides us a convenient enough homunculus for the interpretation of modern neurology’s understanding of the claustrum’s function in the human brain per a many tendril’d central processing unit, myriad inputs and outputs which provide synchronicity of reactive processes to be toggled by the agents of function as their commands are outsourced to the gyrations of other cortical networks. Within this slice of grey matter instantiation, an essential mechanism of the mind where broader rules are created in the face of emergent stimuli, is key yet this does not entirely account for the plasticity of said functional space. Instead if we look to the most arcane root of the term claustrum in practicum it lies within description of vitally connective yet otherwise liminal spaces of convergence, a precursor to the specificity of a cloister more-or-less where synchronicity of a religious order relied upon a central nucleus where all doors lead and vice versa. If I haven’t lost you already, and with this in mind, it is clear that Claustrum has thus far functioned as a central processing unit and a place of sacred gathering, a proponent of ‘old school’ death metal instantiation in the Italian trio’s hands as they’d converged for the sake of solidarity and the focused sanity of expression during the onset and durance of cursed anno MMXX. Their debut full-length album, ‘Claustrum‘, functions much like a scientific or religious symposium an exploration of collective sentience fueled by apocalyptic fear and overbearing eye-contact with morbidity. Filthy and spitting, tormented in atmosphere and stricken down by impending doom we get an deep impression and a solid sketch of what a grip of classic death metal records, a lot of “free” time per a worldwide public health crisis can conjure here on this high potentiate first showing.

Claustrum formed between Antonio of introspective black/death project Affliction Vector, a fellow named Stefano who is the drummer for post-black metal band Fierce, alongside another member who I assume is part of those projects or sludge/doom metal group Grime. The important note to take from the line-up is perhaps the amount of timely variety their work has touched upon overall as said experience manifests on this debut as a not-so typical form of ‘old school’ influenced death metal which is atmospheric, cavernous and prone to estranged and blasted-at riff tangents (“Destined to Rot”) and somewhat average head-bobbing grooves (“Hopeless Despair”) while also earning a strong secondary death/doom metal trait. Their sound manages a bit of the run-on motion sickness of fellow Italians Burial in recent years, some of the flippant groovy stretches of Warp Chamber to some small degree, and generally bears a barreling early Incantation-esque quality one might find in the Finnish/North American influenced crews of the mid-to-late 2010’s with a bit more of an emphasis on plodding, simple riffs to break up the density of their action. The doomed emphasis doesn’t come direct from circa ‘Mental Funeral‘/’Retribution for the Dead‘ Autopsy tit-for-tat but there is some admiration for those records in their work per the rotting traditional doom hints that creep into view briefly on a couple key pieces. In fact every moment is “key” to the success of this record as a full listen since the trio spend most of their brief time (~29 minutes) throwing their weight around, scratching every itch and producing an impatient cyclone of indistinct moments prone to quickly pass-through its riff ideas ’til a moshable chunk or steadier pace catches on.

Clawing through the walls, chewing at the bars. — The results of this experiment are amorphous, sure, but Claustrum make up for the sensation of a somewhat tentative, uncertain path forward through the full listen of ‘Claustrum‘ by way of finely detailed work. From the simple repetitive leads that create an ominous push into “Destined to Rot” to the strangled-out, abruptly shoved at scrawling of “Zombie Rat” the focus of the guitar work is manic in the moment but arrives with sense enough as the full listen is considered as a dense but quick roll through. There is a bit of an stymied effect overall, though, and this renders the album more memorable for its sound and impact in the moment rather than its riffcraft or songwriting. “Zombie Rat” is effective for the sake of the weirding chaos it creates as the quick changes it pulls off forces the mind to engage with the details in order to find some footing in their stream of consciousness. Horror movies, existential dread, apocalyptic visions, all of it reveals as more of a showcase for tormented souls stuck in place and this abundance of ideas in captivity is generally a plus, lending well to repeat listens and allowing for the production values to flex the generous space they’ve created for the band.

A high ceiling captures the quaking push of their most aggressive moments as well as the more doomed turns taken, such as “Desire of Death (Nuclear Death)” which as it turns out is not a cover from the classic Arizona deathgrind band. This piece more or less adds to the disarray of the full listen as Claustrum continue to skip across the surface and I believe that is the main point of this debut, to piece together all of the possibilities rather than hone in on one exact point of focus; “Hopeless Despair” begins with a clip from The Green Inferno (2013) a more recent Eli Roth film which is best left to discover on your own before these folks launch into the mid-paced pusher of a song featuring yet another shift in modus. This piece is frankly a little bit too typical and dry in terms of its rhythms compared to what they’ve shown elsewhere on the album. Otherwise they get back on track with closer “Awaiting Doom”, a mirror of the best parts of “Destined to Rot” and “Desire of Death”, toward a satisfying if not at all neatly rounded overall presentation.

Brief as Claustrum‘s introduction is they’ve covered a lot of ground here and conveyed a distorted, unbearable consciousness under duress and to great effect. It is interesting to think that this band formed for the sake of their shared comfort zone of traditional death metal and yet their result is (relatively) myriad to the point of an experience which is fittingly paired with the spiraling, deformed cataclysmic inferno which the album art from Davide Mancini depicts. The state of mind and the richly presented audio-visual aspect that the complete package that ‘Claustrum‘ creates isn’t so much unheard of but unexpected and certainly compelling as a debut which feels like fine work if not yet fully matured in vision. The best mark for this sound is probably the ear who thrives equally within what death metal is doing “now” and what death metal has always brought in terms of violent, morbid energy and overbearing atmosphere. After many listens I was left with the rare feeling that I wasn’t sure what comes next, or, exactly what the thread was at all in terms of summing the maddening corridor presented. It ‘Claustrum‘ doesn’t stick in mind the way a more repetitive or stylized album might’ve and in that sense it won’t likely be one for the ages just yet but I can’t help but be impressed by the scope and wilding of this record as a first plunge into despair. A high recommendation.

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