Aligned via erratic muscle memory, seeming improvised experiential arrange and caustic noisome wrath Helsinki, Finland-based experimental death metal trio LIGATION defy any clear enough sub-genre based qualification on this uneven yet boldly conceived debut album. Rather than present logical, simplified meshing of sub-genre ‘After Gods‘ instead aims for a fealty free but not-so deep delve into ancient death, sludge, post-punk/dark metal and extreme doom within its wandering hand. In the process of clipping through imaginary borders they’ve accumulated bizarre cadence, a homebrewed and sadistic non-statement which should appeal to folks seeking a unique enough left-hand slurry of extremism.

Ligation formed as a duo circa 2022 between Marko Neuman (Convocation, Sum of R, et al.) and current Profetus guitarist Mikko Saarikoski bent on creating death-noise, an extreme metal and harsh noise glom initially defined by an eight minute track on a split with Hail Conjurer (2023). “Seraphic Gluttony” read something like Today is the Day aligned with death and dark metal tonality and likely involved some manner of improvisation considering its overall structure. From my point of view this level of unplanned thought helps to explain the unclear directive reflected between each of their releases thus far: On the band’s split with Gravavgrav (2025) one song’d touched upon a Celtic Frost-esque wane through death/doom and the other a sludge rocking, kinda noise rock bent groove with a saxophone solo sported at its peak. As a result there were no real expectations heading into this compilation, five new songs which constitute the ‘After Gods‘ EP as well as all three of the songs released on aforementioned split releases.

As suggested the new material included on ‘After Gods‘ includes five pieces and roughly ~24 minutes of experimental death noise, erratic vignettes which form and occasionally resolve before falling to vortices of harsh noise drain. No, the results are even less predictable than that but each has its own categorical thought which informs its style while the tendencies of the musicians involved informs how those manifest. To start opener/title track “After Gods” brings a wriggling death n’ rolled half-thrash groove amidst throat itching barks and gurgling, gnashed emissions from Neuman, a bizarrely familiar yet brief crash-out which aesthetically approximates something like Xysma‘s most esoteric nausea. From there “Turmoil in Everest” brings a post-hardcore/post-punk bound n’ drain trade (re: “Human Success”), a duality of odd-stepping movement and serious faced black-lipped goth gaze which eventually devolves into riff runs suitable for post-‘Symphonies of Sickness‘ afflicted Scandinavian death demos. Though the trip through this record is brief when discounting the bonus songs it is nonetheless a trip thanks to each step taken leaving a different imprint behind.

We could still accuse Ligation of being a death metal band on some fundamental level per how often they find a lucid angle from which to deploy aggression or just groove, each piece has a riff spiraling within its guts at the very least. “Obscure Flame” is an interesting enough example of a consistently riff driven piece in their hands, beginning with a danceable bap through a deceptively simply rhythm which transforms into a steady stomped blast at its peak. This paired with “Eruption” and its noxious industrial metal style pulled me away from original comparisons to vexingly experimental bands like Pan.Thy.Monium and instead something less clearly synched with death metal. How this all relates, or whether it should at all, becomes the most pressing thought on the ride through.

By chance or perhaps design the remainder of the album is vested in tangentially addressing this via closing piece “Reflection”, a nearly ten minute growl-and-plod through frustrated atmospheric sludge metal which meets up with Neuman‘s wild kettle wheezing shrieks ’til slowly boiling over into funeral doom metal weighted saunter. As the final moments of ‘After Gods‘ dissolve into scrawling saxophones, discordant guitar chord thrum and thick vocal effects some cohesion manifests on an elemental level yet I’m not sure I’d gotten elbow deep into the “death/doom metal/noise” that’d been suggested upon entry. When pairing that experience with the previously released split songs there is a viable third act given to Ligation‘s efforts and a decent debut statement overall though there was no “easy” takeaway gleaned from repeated listening. With that said the self-sustaining esotericism which the band offers on this quasi-debut LP is wildly entertaining for its curiously informal and uneven approach. A moderately high recommendation.

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