Though this latest EP from Atlanta, Georgia-based death metal trio CEMETERY FILTH comes with a short list of changes made to personnel and a different approach to the mapping of its overall tempos one can still walk into their realm expecting ‘old school’ United States death metal inspired work. ‘Senses of Detriment‘ appears to lead with a differently-specific muse under the same general umbrella now focusing on the earliest shifts towards progressive tendency in death metal without losing the raw, classicist edge the band’ve become known for. Though the referential gait of this album is loudly telegraphed within its rhythms this doesn’t stop their work from being an above-average ride and a compelling slap of the refresh button for their whole gig. Whether it is a side quest or a new direction you can head in expecting a serious, thoughtful stab at classic death metal sounds.

Cemetery Filth formed circa 2014 and put out a demo (‘Screams From the Catacombs‘, 2014) mid-summer, getting picked up by Unspeakable Axe within a month or two. Their approach was old school death metal influenced and unfalteringly so, a raw enough approach lead by vocalist/guitarist Maddie Kilpatrick (Death of Kings) concerned with obvious enough points of inspiration on that first tape. They didn’t rush their path to a full-length, taking about six years to finally land upon ‘Dominion‘ (2020) which’d easily been one of the best death metal releases of that stacked-ass, cursed-ass year (#40 on my 100 Best Albums of the Year). I’d detailed the development of the band up ’til that point in my review of that album but the gist of how I’d described their debut (alongside a very high recommendation) was: “Demonstrative but not overbearing complexity, a sight line for the origins of the sub-genre, powerful yet restrained technique, and a knack for ‘in the pocket’ riff music” In the sense that ‘Dominion‘ brought a circa ’92 USDM level of thrashing classicism enough to realize the original intent of the band and seal off that first life cycle where early Morbid Angel, Autopsy and Death were clearly important watershed zoning for that ideation. If you’d forgotten how great that album is revisit the title track/closer (“Dominion”) and that should refresh most of the memory banks on what’d made their work exceptional.

Quite a lot of change has occurred in the space of four years though Cemetery Filth are still a death metal band obsessed with the old ways done proper, or, in the case of ‘Senses of Detriment‘ the old ways done in something closer to their own signature style beyond ‘Dominion‘. The current line-up features as a trio with a new rhythm section by way of bassist Evie Austin (Inscribed) and drummer Tristan Payne both of whom bring a virtuosic touch to these recordings which otherwise rely upon a decidedly raw, “real” production value which seats the rugged rhythm guitar tone up front, the drums slapping in the back and the bass guitar tone settled around elbow height resembling the impact of a live performance and a late 80’s/early 90’s Morrisound sense of space to some degree a la ‘Spiritual Healing‘, the original mix at least. This is probably most evident on the more wobbly grooves and meandering movements of “Cyclocognition” where we get a sense of maybe a bit of Sadus in their brains, the first Atheist album kinda poking around in skull, that era of great prog-level bassists who weren’t necessarily there to dominate the statement of each song but rather to accentuate the circuitous hand applied to death metal’s otherwise brutal rhythmus.

Is this a prog-death record, then? In the sense that their work is clearly taking some inspiration from Death which also includes nods to their first steps into “proto-progressive” death metal, yes. I would at least attach ‘old school’ as the main tag for thier style of death metal here otherwise. From the growling, staggered and walking-speed twitching of “Intrepid Ways” to the full tunnel envisioned step of “Vacant Planets” we find an entirely consistent and focused set of five songs here, all of which do well to make the case for this more economically stated focus on the riff while following each movement (or, string of riffs) to a point of resolve. Referential as their approach to this might appear once you’ve had the thought (see: opening to “Vacant Planets”) these songs are yet classics-attuned craft manifested at a high skill level and a bit part of this is of course Kilpatrick‘s doing where her vocal + guitar tone are key to establishing a clear enough connection to the general thrashing 80’s ’til 90’s amped register of ‘Dominion‘, and particularly within the estranged wiles of the first two songs (“Intrepid Ways”, “Cyclocognition”) while otherwise moving into a different mode here overall.

From the Dark Angel-esque trample-in of the title track to the tunnel visioned riff salad that comprises “Vacant Planets” we don’t necessarily lose the charm of the opening pieces as the EP burns through though I’d found the focus of this album must’ve consciously been some manner of tribute to the general Death-adjacent zeitgeist overall. I’d found it hard to drop that notion as I’d repeatedly bumped into excellent riffs approached in a very familiar way throughout and I suppose this is better emphasized between the final two songs. Otherwise the standout here is probably “Senses of Detriment” as it is a best showing as a mid-release stunner which crams every moment with a tempo shift, a new riff, a wild fill, or a fretboard scrambling lead that crashes out in a spectacular way to the point that the song hangs loose but still delivers a dense, groove-ridden statement overall. It almost feels like they’re fighting uphill through the song, adding to the authenticity of their prog-death in a garage feeling and stylistic focus while avoiding making any one moment too focused on shred or overwrought atmosphere.

‘Senses of Detriment‘ isn’t necessarily what I’d expected beyond ‘Dominion‘ in terms of style though I’d felt those high standards were upheld in general and this still translates into a rough-edged, ugly vision of death metal with similarly high standards for the riff and heavier focus on the rhythmic mechanics of each song. I didn’t find myself necessarily gaining or accessing any particular feeling or perspective from the experience beyond certain references yet the whole of it was entertaining, easy to put on and disappear into each time I’d picked it up. A high recommendation.

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