Artist: Putridarium / Trollcave
Country: Germany / Spain
Label: Seven Metal Inches Records
Formats: Split 7″ EP
Year: 2024
‘Swallowed By Rottenness’ brings together two of today’s emerging death metal acts. Both Putridarium from Germany and Spanish Trollcave have been touring around and harvesting a bit of underground success with both these shows across Europe as well as their back catalogue. In the case of Putridarium that is quite an extensive amount of demos and other short players, but have recently put out their debut full-length album via a joint-venture between Headsplit Records and Night Terrors Records. Trollcave is said to be almost ready for their sophomore album which should appear through the esteemed Me Saco Un Ojo label. But before all that, this split 7” EP is there to whet your appetite for ghoulish Death/Doom Metal.
Honestly, Putridarium, opening the dance, didn’t do much to me on the previous recordings, but it has to be said that I am impressed by the improvement the band made since their last demos. Possibly the extensive gigging has influenced the undeniable progress the band has made. Whatever the reason, this track, ‘Necrophagic Torment’ is the band’s best effort to date. With a heavy and massive production it is not only sounding better, especially the dynamics in the track makes it an interesting song with enough twists and turns to prevent it to sound too monotonous, something that a lot of bands in this particular field suffer from. Besides the tidal wave-like coming and going of the main riff it is the rather sinister melody that gives the track an extra atmospheric ambiance that truly makes it stand out above the previous material.
Just like Putridarium, also Trollcave, on the other side of the vinyl, has never really won me over. And, frankly, ‘Malformed Descent Into Iniquitous Necroticism’ didn’t do much to change that. Occasionally creeping up to Funeral Doom territories, the Death/Doom Metal of the Spaniards is rather uneventful. Even the Evoken and Mournful Congregation-like melodies are not enough to save the track from overall mediocrity. Trollcave once again proves that playing Death/Doom Metal is not about just slowing things down, there is no tension or anything to keep the music exciting. Consequently, the sluggish pace even starts to slightly annoy. On top of that, the rawer production is not really complimentary to the music, preventing to give real depth to the riffs and overall experience.
Although I have (still) not been convinced by Trollcave, it is safe to say that ‘Swallowed By Rottenness’ is a solid release and a good choice if you’re interested in current day’s Death Metal up-and-comers. But regardless of personal taste and preferences, as a 7” EP enthusiast I can only applaud the matchmaker on duty here, Seven Metal Inches, to keep these little slabs of vinyl coming.
