With the chyme of suppurated flesh sputtering in gut and the taste of violent gorge hot on their breath Bristol, England-based death metal trio CRYPTWORM churn up a third and most putrid act of self-digestion on this latest full-length album. An act of gutturally expressed gore-obsession, ‘Infectious Pathological Waste‘ only tightens its hypnotic, circularly worming sphincter’s clench upon ‘old school’ gore-grind adjacent death metal as the band once again double down on both belligerent and intricate traits. Keeping their heads down and guts distended ensures this record is punishing in its focus, inciting head-spinning delirium per its strangely moshable and unflinchingly belched gore metal muse.

When I’d first heard Cryptworm back in 2020 per a review of their second EP ‘Reeking Gunk of Abhorrence‘ it was easy to appreciate the goregrind condensed sensibilities of Undergang and Cerebral Rot extending into something like Demilich‘s most primitive movements and lung distending vocal skull-belch but the riffs were kinda status quo for the time. Vocalist/guitarist Tibor Hanyi’s (Rothadás, Tyrant Goatgaldrakona, et al.) guttural grunts were big enough spectacle to compel the ear and the zero double bass drummed efforts of Joe Knight (ex-Pale Mist) gave the whole record a basement level intelligence worth bookmarking at the time. The peak of that original duo’s efforts was a muddy-assed debut LP (‘Spewing Mephitic Putridity‘, 2022) which’d felt just over the top enough as they’d explored some of those goregrind meets Demilichian currents (re: “Septic Phlegm Asphyxia”) in the process. I’d appreciated that record for its sound and stylized ambitions but they’d only stood out amongst several far lesser peers doing similar things with 80’s/90’s goregrind inspired aesthetics and didn’t stick in mind.

Hanyi soon recruited fellowes from Seprevation and Cryptic Shift to help realize an immediate follow-up in ‘Oozing Radioactive Vomition‘ (2023) where I’d praised the fast progress made in review and cheered on the exaggerated vocals and uptick in speed and rhythmic complexity applied. I did eventually concede that it was “not a substantially different album if we really pick it down to the bones but a version of Cryptworm that is feeling itself more and getting weirder without losing the plot.” and I think that is yet true for the third album in some aesthetic sense but several years later ‘Infectious Pathological Waste‘ is less tethered to where the band’d identified themselves back in 2022 as they continue to push the extremes of their core conceit. That is to say there are even more riffs this time around, the vocals are way more over the top, and all of it tunnels down to Hell in the process of gory, mayhemic devolution.

Retching from the very first breath Cryptworm sputter into opener “Gallons of Molen Hominal Goo” readied to snap into the first of many similarly pocket-tight grooves but not without showcasing a mostly coherent string of riffs and rhythmic quick-step along the way. Rather than sprawling into a more dynamic, varietal stretch ‘Infectious Pathological Waste‘ seems to have chosen to hunker down and focus on tightening the impact of their craft and in the process they’ve no time for elaborate presentation, samples in between songs, or anything else that’d fall outside of the scope the first couple of songs establish herein. “Maimed and Gutted” in particular reminds of the simpler bonking grooves they’ve long aligned with, almost hitting like a ‘Roots‘ B-side when the ~1:30 minute mark hits as they start swinging and ralphing. Not every song takes such a simpler mosh metallic stance but you’ll find every idea here stretched and elaborated over the course of these ~35 minutes.

Hanyi’s vocals have only gotten more sickening with each Cryptworm release and he is more dialed into the inhaled, hoarked and gutturally flapped-out range than ever on this record. Though I wouldn’t say we get a full-on ‘Nespithe‘ worship song here “Drowning in Purulent Excrementia” and parts of “Gastrointestinal Seepage” reach that level of extremity and rhythmic exchange. Otherwise the former is probably the big standout here for my own taste due to its extended length melting the brain and the vocals going that extra step over the top. The only other piece I’d point to for a brain-worming riff would be the main progression found on “Emanations of Corporeal Pyosis”, riffcraft which to me recalls something like early Broken Hope here and there.

Though I could point out a few more choice riffs or dive into the milieu of mouth noises canonical to the classic deathgrind and goregrind impact deployed within it’d do just as well to suggest you’ll know exactly what you’ve stepped in when encountering this Cryptworm record as they continue to iterate upon their core sound. The lack of lead guitars might cull interest for some seeking refinement though I figure precedence’d already been established on the first couple of records. My own enjoyment of ‘Infectious Pathological Waste‘ centers around the band picking up the pace and tunneling into their sound a bit deeper, simple as that. They’ve made nastier, even more aggressive work of an entertaining over the top sound. A moderately high recommendation.

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