Nine acts presented in increasing entropic disarray delineate omnispatial pitch black downturn, a disordered and waning equilibrium event which casts our witness upon the featureless endpoint of heat death. Animalistic in its recension and surreal in its atmospheric discharge this much anticipated concept album from Minsk, Belarus-based brutal death metal quartet RELICS OF HUMANITY aims to turn our eyes away from God as they snuff out all light and bask in the thought of an eternity spent in suffocating gloom. Our destination and their third full-length, ‘Absolute Dismal Domain‘, is an elegantly depicted cataclysm… a brutal death metal record where every downtuned note clubbed and each hammer of its taut snare counts toward its primeval return to desolation, a siphon of life and hope from already greying minds.

Relics of Humanity formed circa 2007 closer to the tail-end of MySpace-era CD-r birthed brutal death infamy overall by way of still fairly young folks. Chipping off a short but foul two song demo (‘Demo‘, 2007) penned by guitarist Sergey Liakh their interest was in the heaviest, darkest forms of brutality at the time which I’d say hit closer to early Putridity, Devourment and such with a vocalist who had maybe taken notes from stuff like Disgorge as they’d pressed on toward their second demo (‘The Core of Everything is Rotting‘, 2010) where the more percussive drive of the band had developed considerably. At that point it was clear the core intent of the band was not to become a tech-death gig but (much like Defeated Sanity) their work would center around a over the top exaggeration of brutal death metal foundations. The end result of this original trio’s initial work was a debut full-length (‘Guided by the Soulless Call‘, 2012) where one can quickly identify some slamming brutal death influence in the cavernous blast of it all. At the time I’d only known the Amputated Veins imprint for ‘Ingesting Putridity‘ but decided to check out that first LP per its implied style and unique Jon Zig cover art.

It’d been the second LP from Relics of Humanity (‘Ominously Reigning upon the Intangible‘, 2014) that’d realized their momentum in a way which was universally admirable, their own gimmick-free pure brutal death metal attack which’d then featured the far more straight forward vocals of Vladimir Borodulin (Downcross). The main reason I was hyped to check out what was new here on ‘Absolute Dismal Domain‘ today is for the sake of where the main composer, Liakh, focused his attention for the last ten years under Ominous Scriptures which’d felt like a pivot but not a fully unrelated exploration of classic second/third-gen brutal death blasphemy. I would absolutely recommend checking out the underrated final album from that band (‘Rituals Of Mass Self-Ignition‘, 2023) before they’d split that same year. Another band, Dispersed, featuring Relics of Humanity‘s new drummer Vladislav Vorozhtsov (Paroxysm Unit, ex-7.H Target) and Liakh would also release an album circa 2021.

So, the fellow hadn’t set aside this band beyond the all-in stampede of the 2019 released ‘Obscuration‘ EP but rather took the time to create this new album during a flurry of pandemic-era activity, serving as an entirely immersive experience for Liakh, who’d taken complete control over most every element of ‘Absolute Dismal Domain‘ from concept to creation and render. This includes a Zig-esque cover artwork from the guitarist, making it clear that this is a singular vision and and one explanation for its brilliantly considered execution and overall well-tempered tautness. Two things I’d note up front that’ve changed quite a lot beyond 2019 is the addition of French vocalist Flo Butcher (Tortured, Vile) who brings back the more guttural range of earlier material, and a pretty damned sweet snare ping to accompany a real-ass brutal death production value… both of these traits combine for a sound which is a bit like ‘The Sanguinary Impetus‘ in its sense of space but built upon a very different sense of pacing.

That is to say that this brutal death metal album starts out pounding away at a mid-pace, almost ‘Gateways to Annihilation‘ levels of sludging purge and pound as the brief opener/instrumental “Omen Apollyon” gives way to probably the most memorable piece up front, “Summoning of Those Who Absorbed” thanks to a quick rush of foreshadowing. That’d maybe be the most important point to make to folks who don’t want to sit through a ceaseless brutal death metal album, first that the experience is short at just ~32 minutes and second that the action is linear and ever-changing rather than dryly repetitious as this is a concept album suggesting nine different scenes set within view of the collapse of the heavens and cessation of all life. The release of this juggernaut and the burial resultant is pure dread, doom raining upon us as Abaddon descends and from the first growl I’d personally felt Butcher the ideal vocalist for Relics of Humanity with consideration for the trip through their discography I’d taken prior, a behemoth drawl that presses the ear right from its pulpit as the irregular hammer of the drums marches along in between lightning bolt strikes across the land. The faded rift that develops beyond this decimation around ~1:44 minutes into “Summoning of Those Who Absorbed” was the first sign of otherworldly drain, a persistent dark ambiance and droning float (see also: “Absolute Dismal Domain”) that acts to space not only movements (as in this case) but also seep between songs as an ongoing atmospheric sink.

With most pieces capping themselves off around ~3-4 minutes that mind-bending moment that’d stricken the ear and had me listening closer was typically a fading burst, a spike along the path that’d almost force repeated listens of the whole deal. Still, there’d been no missing the pinging snare-whipper “Taking the Shape of Infinity” not only for the grotesque finesse of the drum performances/recording but the sludgy trade-off between the two main guitar channels and their differently backgrounded layers, working on some early Deeds-level strikes in between the slower doomed lunges which arrive in the “breakdown” of the final third. Take your ear off a song like this and risk losing your place in the maze ahead as the whole of the experience felt non-linear to me even when paying close attention to the meter of it all via production that emphasizes the drum and vocal presence atop the less ragged guitar tones in use.

The dynamic that forms here is not shocking outside of its major extremes as the pull between fast and brutally harried sledging and slower, deeper pulses represents a series of erratic hills and valleys. While this might not seem revolutionary for death metal in general… for brutal death it is masterful with respect to the medium engaged, pushing limits for the sake of feeding a theme which is a bleak and destructive as possible. As we pass on to Side B I’d found “Absolute Dismal Domain” signaled less of the bellowing doomed concussive blasts and more groove-centered brutal pieces overall with the impressive “Smoldering of Seraphim” acting as the catalyst for increasing entropy (disorder) as the impact of the cataclysm burns out the deepest halls of the highest order. The only criticism I’d launch at the album was that I’d wanted this piece to hit slightly earlier, the Immolation-esque groove they work into it is brilliant where it is but it’d have served more impact further away from the similar “His Creation That No Longer Exists”, an almost slow-motion ‘Winds of Creation‘ level stir that steals its thunder almost immediately and ends the album before the outro (“Dominion”) circles us back.

The return of Relics of Humanity is the heat death of the universe summoned by diabolic forces, claiming the cosmos unto permanent dissolution and disorder and ‘Absolute Dismal Domain‘ does an incredible job of narrating these pure nox landscapes with jagged yet militant brutality and surrealistic slow-plowed lunges of rack and ruin. Succinct and deeply niche-built as the album is, especially for a conceptual work, they’ve made their point with an intensely ugly, violent hammer in hand and as a longtime fan of brutal death and its idiosyncratic sensory overload this is not an average or everyday act. For some it may be a surprisingly refined reintroduction to the band, for others it’ll be a horrid noisy bash through but in my case this is one of the more inventive, erratically struck, and organically achieved brutal death records I’ve heard in minute. A very high recommendation.

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