From toxin assisted exploration of the psyche to vein disintegrating ataxia Venice/Treviso, Italy-based death metal trio MIASMIC SERUM explore the relationship between revelatory intoxication and the horrifying death offered by envenomation on this inspired debut full-length album. Rather than lean into cavebro chunk or progressive extremes ‘Infected Seed‘ takes the collective tastes and past experience of its members in creation of an energetic and at times hardcore infused record which endears more with each blazed-through examination only just making a first impression, albeit a strong one.

Miasmic Serum are yet another pretty new death metal band having only just formed a couple of years ago in 2022 between three folks variously involved in lesser-known black (Afraid of Destiny), thrash/groove (Kamion) and death metal/hardcore (The Mild) bands which are/were all fairly average or just green with the exception of bassist/co-vocalist Julian Serrato‘s deathgrind group Restos Humanos. When we take those various parts and consider those experiences as feed for the full-fledged and professionally conjured debut full-length that ‘Infected Seed‘ is it all makes a bit more sense where they came from and how they’d applied it to the simpler shades of death metal here and now. That is to suggest that their work has all the makings of what most would consider an ‘underground’ death metal record today, including the usual hardcore influences expected in 2024.

Though I would understand if that sets expectations low and would normally read as passe or inadvisable from my point of view the way these folks have written their own blender of forms on this album recalls the best of early 90’s U.K. death metal (Benediction, et al.) and of course some moments which recall classics from Malevolent Creation, Obituary, and mid-era Gorefest when taking a certain level of groove into account. Their stuff is still the new idea of what the old stuff sounded like, an approximation with less focus on variation and songcraft yet it has its own exciting punkish energy that should broadly entertain. A song like “Immortal Entity” or the somewhat more swinging “Lethal Bite” has most of this on display: Wailing divebombs, grind-aped blasts, and simple count guitar progressions which carry a tune while socking it out. However basic the melodies might be on a few of these seven or so pieces keeping it tightened up to ~30 minutes avoids fatigue and gives the sensation of a myriad set of riff ideas clipping one after another.

‘Infected Seed‘ is above average for its performative value, sure, and there are a lot of death metal bands making waves giving gentler mid-paced windmill punches through the pit at the moment yet there are sparks of authenticity throughout this thing, such as the ‘Leprosy‘ (or, early Master) level kick of “Brain Walls” before they work in a few circa ’93 Morbid Angel-esque riffs. Though they are not a technical death metal band the care with which they put together their lyrical themes, bringing some characterization with as much intent as possible into some of the better songs on here helps to keep the overall curation of the album savvy in appearance. That said when it is time to thrash or grind… such as the buzz-through, breakdown and thrash-out of “Lost Control”, Miasmic Serum shines at faster speeds ripping through moments that take cues from their experiences with powerviolence and grindcore.

The only point where it kinda gets weird is the title track, which features the vocalist from Fulci, where they finish off the album with a decidedly mid-90’s metallic hardcore crew riff. I’m not even complaining about it, though, because precedent was technically set with the other guest spot on the album (“Mortal Training” + Jason Netherton) which leans into death metal at a decidedly higher ratio but features another single rhythm guitar break at one point. I’m not all about the dumb shit people take from metallic hardcore and set to a death metal beat but these folks seem to have a much deeper understanding of that vast world and its decades of nuance, the vitality of it in particular, and it brings some legitimate interest to the full listen here. I’m not sure it’d make sense to try and examine this record on a level any deeper than that for the sake of not reaching any harder as the appeal and the delivery of this record is simple and effective enough.

There is some depth to what Miasmic Serum are doing here in terms of conveying a theme of natural poison, be it use as ritual hallucinogenic imbibe or its use as a weapon but these takes a quick backseat to their main purpose on ‘Infected Seed‘, presenting aggressive yet detailed rhythms in a style which is reasonably standout from my point of view. It ain’t that deep, at least not to the point that it should get more than a quick thumbs up or two. Otherwise I am a big fan of the album artwork from Julian Mora Ibañez for the creative scene it depicts, the way the detail serves the lighting, and the menace of the image itself. It does well to help further characterize this album as more than just a quick punch through. I’m not sure the whole of the experience will stick in mind eternal for its songcraft but the consideration put into this release makes a more than worthy, not at all taxing first impression from these folks. Probably a higher rating than expected but I felt this one was particularly entertaining and lent itself well to repeated listens.

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