Canadian Death Metal band Immortal Possession originally started out way back in 1989 and lasted until the mid 90’s. In that time the band unleashed four demo releases before calling it a day on the band. Then, in 2020 things sparked to life once more and a video release fittingly entitled ‘30 Years of Festering’ was put out. Now though the band have gone one step further, and they have released a debut album more than 30 years since their inception, which they have named ‘The Resurrectionist’.
As you might expect, these Winnipeg Death Metal miscreants have a decidedly old school sound that leans heavily on hard hitting riffs and maniacal sounding rhythm guitar in order to create a solid sounding base from which to work with. Interestingly the band have opted for a style that showcases their sense of songcraft more than outright brutality, and whilst they do fashion a large amount of punishing guitar leads, mixed with rumbling bass and a brash drumming style, they do so in such a way as to not be detrimental to the overall melody of the tracks on offer.
Tracks such as ‘Delicacy of Disease’ are of particular interest to me as I love slower paced chugging Death Metal; I really feel that bands can create a far darker, more brooding sound in this way, and the subtle use of backing synth in places also adds to the effect magnificently. A few words on the bass play during this album. If you’ve read a few of my reviews you’ll know I love a dominant and prominent bass style and the bass tones on offer here fit the bill precisely.
In many ways there is a primitivism to the bands sound and style on this album, but only works in their favour. Welcome back to the fold lads, your debut album has been worth the wait.
Burning Metal