Mental Cruelty - Purgatorium (2018)^{Release ID: 25242}

You don't often expect me, someone who often tries to avoid the gorier sh*t from death metal/core, to find an album like this perfect. But in my honest opinion, it is! As far as slam-deathcore goes, this is that style at its best. Part of the reason is how short it is compared to their later 10-track albums. In 32 minutes, you have 8 tracks, or 6 if the two-part suite isn't separated and one track didn't have its intro a separate track, all giving you extreme brutality in a moderate amount.

When an awesome deathcore album comes out in the beginning of the year, fans of the genre will surely be pleased for the rest of the year. That must be how epic cyber metal fans feel when a Mechina album comes out on New Year's Day. Anyway, expect a lot of breakdowns and blasts in Mental Cruelty's debut Purgatorium!

The title suite begins with the solid "Chapter 1: The Rotting World Above". An ambient intro fades into neoclassical shredding followed by fast heavy riffing. Nothing seems redundant at all. The other part "Chapter 2: Rise of the Antichrist" is one of the most technical tracks by the band. That relentless charger is like a more brutal Within the Ruins! "Vicarius Filii Dei" continues the heaviness with occasional pace changes.

Heading further into the deathcore side, "Father of Abomination" has more hardcore riffing and closes with a slamming breakdown. "Genesis (Lies From the Beginning)" is the interlude that might work a tad better when embedded to the next track. "The Venerable One" has more of the top-notch vocals and riffing.

Slows things down while staying heavy is "Immortalizing Purgatory". It's quite solid and interesting when it can naturally from slow to fast and maintain the relentless chaos. Finale "The Incantation of Human Annihilation" is filled with heavy riffing. This brutal standout is mostly instrumental, only having some vocals in the first half. Quite a heavy way out with all its might!

If there's anything that can be considered the epitome of slam-deathcore, Purgatorium is that. And this is before they added more variation in their later albums by adding in symphonic black metal elements. This solid masterpiece is for any and every deathcore fan!

Favorites: "Purgatorium" (both chapters), "Father of Abomination", "The Venerable One", "The Incantation of Human Annihilation"