Band:	Resin Tomb
Album:	Cerebral Purgatory
Style:	Deathgrind, Sludge metal
Release date:	January 2024

01. Dysphoria
02. Flesh Brick [feat. Scott Tabone]
03. Scalded
04. Cerebral Purgatory
05. Human Confetti
06. Purge Fluid
07. Concrete Crypt
08. Putrescence

‘Deathgrind’ already promises a fusion of two of the most extreme music genres out there; add in some sludge metal as well, and one is faced with a daunting prospect.

After two EPs, Australia’s Resin Tomb are ready to ascend to the next level with debut full-length Cerebral Purgatory. I became acquainted to the group, who were co-founded by Brendan Auld of Descent and Snorlax, with 2022’s two-tracker Unconsecrated/Ascendancy, a tastily vicious release that left me hungry for me. It also evidently caught the attention of Transcending Obscurity, who signed Resin Tomb for the release of this album. Snorlax made a positive impression with their debut album last year, but Auld’s other project's first full outing is at a whole other level.

As mentioned in the opening to the review, Cerebral Purgatory is a fusion of pretty much every extreme sound you could think of; dissonant death metal is arguably the defining style here, but grindcore, sludge and at times even black metal work their way into this ensemble of belligerent and punishing tracks. Consisting of 8 songs that between them fall short of the half-hour mark, Cerebral Purgatory concentrates its venom for maximum effect. This album is fierce, with plenty of blast beats, sinister dissonant textures, pulverizing riffs and grindcore bursts, but has enough in the way of fluctuating intensity to avoid fatigue setting in while listening.

Listeners might not notice much deviation from all-out aggression to begin with, admittedly; “Dysphoria” mixes dissonant guitar work with hardcore/grindcore bruising riffing, alternating beatdowns with blasting in a manner reminiscent to recent Rorcal records, while “Flesh Brick” immediately kicks off in grindcore mode before traversing other forms of extremity. However, midway through, it turns the dial down just a notch for a tasty lighter groove, one where the malice is implied rather than outright explicit; this same passage allows the band to demonstrate their musicality, with rhythmic complexity woven into the repeating dissonant motif.

Subsequent songs allow moments such as these to make their mark, whether briefly or slightly less briefly; the title track opens with a more extended brooding build, flexing the band’s sludgier side with tom-heavy drumming and subtle tremolo guitar textures before declaring war in its second half, while “Human Confetti” moves back and forth between blasting brutality and slightly more expansive dissonant riffs. At the same time, there’s plenty more violence to be heard; “Scalded” is outright ugly with its janky, contorted death riffs that are bruising and dissonant, as well as with its grim sludgy hardcore climax reminiscent of acts such as Hexis or Calligram.

Perhaps the pick of the bunch is the closer, “Putrescence”, which contrasts dissonant blasting and pulverizing sludgy hardcore riffs in its first half, before finishing the record off with a more atmospheric vision. Ominous guitar textures, crunching bass and slow, pounding drums build a sense of dread of what horrors may be in store, before eventually double bass rolling drums and sickening vocals take over to carry that sinister atmospheric dissonance to the album’s conclusion.

It's a tasty way to conclude Cerebral Purgatory, and goes a long way to show that, even while remaining firmly within the realm of extreme metal, just having that range of intensities in one’s locker to contrast the full-force violence helps to maximize the impact of those most furious moments. The deathly dissonance places Resin Tomb adjacent to the black/sludge/hardcore acts like Rorcal and Calligram, but their own approach is no less emphatic and devastating.