Artist: Fessus
Country: Austria
Label: Self-Released / Darkness Shall Rise Productions
Formats: Cassette Tape / CD
Year: 2023 / 2024
At the beginning of Autumn 2023, the rather fresh Austrian Death Metal outfit Fessus self-released their debut demo tape, ‘Pilgrims Of Morbidity’. It first came to my ear a few months later, but didn’t get around to writing a proper review on it, but now the demo was picked up by the Darkness Shall Rise Productions label from Germany, it is about time to give these tracks some well-deserved coverage.
The original demo tape comprised three tracks, combining into just under 14 minutes of music, that shows the band being a multi-headed monster. It clearly derives its influences from different angles and corners of the Death Metal genre, but in the process Fessus knows how to keep themselves far removed from being a direct copy of any band. There is some bits and pieces from various different bands, from old Cannibal Corpse to Purtenance and from Sinister to Autopsy, even some Entombed or Incantation is to be found back in the band’s DNA. Fessus is typically one of those bands that is not very easy to pinpoint, yet sounds thoroughly recognisable. Any Old School Death Metal fan will find something here that will make his or her heart beat faster. It is dynamic, with space for fast, almost staccato-like chopping, but also for more slow and menacing passages. The groove that so many love so much can also be found within the frames of each of these three songs. The eerie lead guitar work in the title track gives the music something of an elusive character. At least Fessus is offering something that feels different from the contemporary Death Metal scene, that I feel is getting a bit more of an exercise in repeating all things that have been done before without ever putting in anything of their own.
A nice, raw and gritty production is doing the rest and certainly makes ‘Pilgrims Of Morbidity’ a very worthwhile demo. It is not much of a surprise that a label showed interest and reissued these recordings. The label-released version find the live-tracks added from the ‘Threshold Of Morbidity’ live EP (recorded in January 2024) and shows how the band holds up on stage. Definitely worth checking out!
![DSR 278 LP – 4 page 8 insert_305x305mm[+3mm Beschnitt].indd](https://thewhisperingdarkness.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/fessus-kill-the-lord-decrowned-ii-trinity-ablaze-pilgrims-of-morbidity-e1739175628297-150x150.jpg "Fessus / Kill The Lord - Decrowned II: Trinity Ablaze / Pilgrims Of Morbidity [Split LP]")
I recently returned to my usual habit of checking blogs in search of new bands. I must admit that I am a little stressed by the number of bands there are and the limited time I have to review everything. I used to have a website where I did reviews in the past, but I don’t want to start something that I won’t possibly finish. So I’m very happy to find places like this. And I’m glad I paid attention to this band! They are fucking cool and sick! Cheers!
Thanks for your kind words, good to see you have found your way to our chimeras. I do share your opinion that it is hard to keep up with everything, we tend to cherry-pick some of the things we find most interesting out of the endless stream of nowadays’ releases. Thank you for reading and support!