Creeping from cell to cell, blooming its internalized carrion throughout a seeming lifetime of development the scourge that eats El Salvador/Costa Rica-based death/doom metal trio MORBID STENCH from within now fully overtakes on this smartly concieved and polished third full-length album. Still rooted in ‘old school’ death metal standards but built up into a cruelly outsized organic monolith ‘Doom Metástasis‘ speaks an old language sans obscuration or gimmickry, relying on the riff and the thunder of their sound for impact. In the process of refining their craft these folks’ve reached a new collective high, an experience which transcends the glom of influences that’d lead them down this path into existentially bleak, gloom-ridden authorship.

Morbid Stench formed back in 2016 by way of drummer Purulent and guitarist/bassist Morbid, who’re both best known for death-thrashers Conceived by Hate and more recently death metal troupe Invocation of Death, alongside vocalist Master Butcher (Necrogod, ex-Insepulto) with all three representing long-term ties to Central American extreme metal scenery, distro and labels. As a unit their approach centers around ‘old school’ death metal inspired sounds, specifically slower paced stuff from Bolt Thrower and Decomposed as well as earliest Paradise Lost but not divorced from the earliest melodic death/doom spawned nearby. When they’d released their first EP (‘The Stench of Doom‘, 2016) it’d been reasonably compared to earlier Hooded Menace and that sound was emphasized on their more severe slow-strumming, cavernous debut LP (‘Doom & Putrefaction‘, 2019) a few years after. Though some of it’ll appear brutally straightforward in hindsight I’d encourage folks dig into the band’s earlier years for their ‘ready well-rounded production values, solid riffcraft and less of a focus on melodic framing.

Thanks to a broader release, stronger melodic leads and ornately crafted sludge/doom rhythms in hand ‘The Rotting Ways of Doom‘ (2022) deservedly received far more attention than Morbid Stench‘s debut. Though I’d enjoyed the busied ancient death metal precepts guiding the band’s inception the work on that second album spoke clearer to the chemistry of the trio’s authorship and appreciably left more air to breathe with regard for the riff and the ruin to follow. This is the main reason I’d been keen to check out ‘Doom Metástasis‘ here ~four years later and largely in hopes that an even more distinct band’d arisen from the years between. This ends up being the case though it is a step taken along a similar path rather than a total reconfiguration.

Opener “Necrotic From Within” speaks to the kind of sludged-out, downtuned drawl of Morbid Stench past but focuses more intently upon the lead guitar driven melody conjured throughout, scaling between patient riff progressions amidst its growling churn. There are several mountains to climb here in terms of this nearly ~eight minute long introduction but I’d focus on the last couple of minutes of the song as they speak loudest to the sort of early Peaceville three infusion (sans any gothic affect) occurring within the best moments of ‘Doom Metástasis‘. The follow up to this, “The Morbid Waltz”, is cut from a more confrontational cloth where chunking staccato riffs bring some ‘Lost Paradise‘-adjacency to the band’s rhythms, a strong contrast to the sleeker expanse of the pieces which surround it.

Rooted in existential questioning ‘Doom Metástasis‘ intends to convey, you guessed it, metastatic invaze of a host (to the point of death?) and in the process they muse upon mortality and its linkage to personage. Naturally the first half of the album is more active in its distress and the second half only grows darker, more doomed in outlook ’til its finale reaches a point of chaotic end. It isn’t the most noticeable shift in passing but pieces like “Bizarre and Beyond” do well enough to signal some level of tonal transition along the way. Fans of mid-to-late 90’s Crowbar should likewise appreciate the doomed side of Morbid Stench‘s riffcraft on that particular song, likely a result of the increased dual-wield rhythmic command of this album in general.

The six pieces which make up ‘Doom Metástasis‘ are exceedingly polished both in terms of performance and production values wherein thunderous, polished sound design emphasizes the rhythm section’s command of each piece. Morbid Stench offer no less a riff-driven experience here than before as the layers of rhythm guitar and their snaking interplay generally amount to a level-up beyond the patient roll of ‘The Rotting Ways of Doom‘. With that said “Narcissistic God” and “Hyperbolic” before it point us toward the band’s tendency to end songs either abruptly or without a more fleshed statement lingering in ear. No doubt this beats a simple fade out or a jarring cut but doesn’t do much for the flow of the total experience as a linear concept driven event. The level of presentation here is succinct and clear though some manner of pointed linkage might’ve communicated the greater concept of the album more clearly.

On their path through disarray ’til dissolution Morbid Stench undoubtedly make good on elevating their sound into greater depth and profundity on this second album. Heavier stamped performances and more active compositions heighten this sensation of refinement while remarkably avoiding the sterility that’d typically follow. A general uptick in the riff count helped with enduring engagement on my part, as the lumbering trod through ‘Doom Metástasis‘ is busier than expected, but their work is appreciably no less connected to the auld standards of death and doom metal fusion. Fans of classic death/doom will find a deeper thinking, morose work of “modern” death and doom here which is righteously avoidant of generations of irrelevant atmospheric metal intervention otherwise. A high recommendation.

---