Depicting an apocalyptic alien invasion wherein a freshly enslaved human population is beset by monstrosities who’d present themselves as revered Eldritch gods to be worshipped and feared, Colombian death metal trio Ossuary return for a science fictive fourth full-length album which sets aside the gory brutality of their past to better invoke their own ‘old school’ ideal. Though ‘Stellar Annihilation‘ is the fourth LP from these folks a new configuration and thematic shift find them hitting the reset button as they aim for an authentic early 90’s styled result of reasonable quality. Their wares are changed but not unrecognizable, now arguably more ambitious in their rhythmic development and increasingly consistent in their reach for a classic standard.

Formed in a northwestern region of Colombia circa 2012 and readied with their first demo (‘El Dia de Mi Muerte‘, 2016) a handful of years later Ossuary were not a particularly impressive band to start as their rhythms appeared out of sync and riff ideas generally lacked interest on that first CD-r. They’d figured the mechanics of composition and performance to a serviceable level on their debut full-length (‘A Morbid Lust for Death‘, 2017) which’d appeared as moderately Death-influenced in its guitar arrangements but limited to a very basic set of grindcore/brutal death styled rhythms. As the band iterated on this sound they’d generally improved, building up a sadistic and brutal form of death metal (think… peak Cannibal Corpse influenced stuff post-1993) that’d caught more ears on album number three (‘Addicted to Human Flesh‘, 2021). There were some solid pieces on that record, such as “The Earth Regurgitates” and the title track, but it’d be the last album fronted by guitarist/vocalist Andres Giraldo (ex-Into the Fucking Grave) as the band quickly pivoted to a three piece with lead guitarist Juan Esteban Sánchez and bassist/now-vocalist Brahiam Valencia performing on this somewhat different fourth LP.

‘Stellar Annihilation‘ makes a strong enough first impression beyond a brief introductory piece wherein its first two songs, “Arrival” and “Demons of the Universe”, set up the theme of the album per an alien invasion by way of an ancient evil, per a pair of Pestilence-level death metal songs with moderately complex riffcraft and a pressed-forth style. This is markedly different than their prior work to start as it feels fluid and aggressive but less coldly slapped at. We find echoes of this with some quasi-progressive death touches towards the end of “I’m an Experiment” and “Temporary Vitrification” later on and an almost ‘Tears of the Unborn‘-level tarantella of riffs on “Chants” deeper in the tracklist but before we get there I’d felt like the album hits a bit of an interruptive road block. — I’m not sure how one could write a song like “Chaos Awakening” and not realize that most of the riffs are directly copped from a handful of Terrorizer songs so, I’ll assume the piece is an intentional tribute to ‘World Downfall‘ and its most recognizable movements. Though I’d had a few double-take moments while chipping my way through the familiar thrashing early-90’s styled death metal riffcraft found on ‘Stellar Annihilation‘ I can’t say I’d minded the number of familiar references found along the way as much as this song because the rhythms weren’t necessarily transformed in an interesting way.

Even if the quality of the performances are somewhat average and some of the songcraft which Ossuary opens this record with ends up being derivative at times they still manage an above-average and fairly involved full listen when we consider the state of ‘old school’ death metal worship the world over today. Beyond that hitch in the gears of their machine ‘Stellar Annihilation‘ still manages to be a notable improvement over the trio’s last several records in the sense that it appears more confident in recording, render and attack of the material as it develops in a thrilling enough chain of riffs throughout. Beyond some general improvement in riffcraft and a spongier, aggressive bass guitar tone, I’d point to the drums and their placement as one of the more important changes felt on this release. On their past releases the drums sounded programmed, artificial or performed on a pad kit and these do as well but they’ve been mixed in such a way that they feel present and slightly more natural thanks to a more active bass guitar presence.

Overall my reaction to this record more-or-less matches that of Parasitario‘s album earlier this year where it is clear what’d inspired the ‘flavor’ of these folks work and despite some parts of their gig not having been fully developed my enjoyment of the listening experience was unhindered as a huge fan of ‘old school’ death metal craft. ‘Stellar Annihilation‘ fumbles through some of its more complex rhythmic threads in the middle of the full listen but the overall ranting and riffing it generates amounts to a good change for Ossuary. A moderately high recommendation.

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