Atrocity (GER) - Longing for Death (1992)^{Release ID: 7633}

Germany's Atrocity have a long and varied career under their belts as I write this review at the death knell of 2022.  About to drop a new opus sometime in the near future, the band will have released 12 full lengths by the time 2023 rolls around and although they have strayed from the death metal path over the years (hardcore, goth rock and even folk have seeped into their sound at various points) their sophomore release, Todessehnsucht (the version named here is one which the label changed the name on, against the bands wishes) is a joy of technical and biting death metal.

Without surprise there is a strong Morbid Angel vibe to the vocals here and this is particularly obvious on first track proper Godless Years which reminds me in places of The Ancient Ones from MA's sophomore album from the year prior to Atrocity's second album.  Although relevant, the technical aspects of the bands sound is not that obvious at all times and nor is utilised at the expense of any brutality.  Riffs are complex and pacing of them varies quite quickly at times but the sound overall is still beefy enough and they actually do a more than respectable cover of Death's Archangel here and they stay true the format of the original whilst still making their own mark on things.

I like how the bass plods in isolation during the moments of paired back intensity, just rumbling along as though threatening to go off into some Atheist-like level of progression without actually ever getting there.  Although a death metal record through and through it is clear from this early release to catch hints of a band who would not be afraid to experiment in the future.  That is not to say that Atrocity are guilty of any wankery here either.  Although it does not follow a necessarily linear path on each track there is a defined earthiness to the sound here,  it reminds me of a Suffocation record with a less rich production job that on occasion leaves things coming off as a little diluted but overall this is solid work that is captured well on tape.  Those sonics are fired at the listener as opposed to being introduced by obvious breaks or pace/time changes.  The use of lead guitar work to expand the boundaries of the core structure of a song is key in death metal from this area and is something that the aforementioned Morbid Angel were doing effortlessly and it is good to see one of the European dm cohort matching these traits in their own sound.

The flow of the album suffers a bit (there is weirdly placed, choral track titled Introduction in the middle of the record for some reason that looks like it was supposed to be some kind of interlude) which reminds me of a poor attempt at later Gorguts releases when they went a lot more experimental.  Here they just lack cohesion with everything else that is going on in the track listing and genuinely become interruptions as opposed to tolls to keep the the album varied.  I still cannot fault what goes on in terms of the musicianship though and that is more than enough to keep Todessehnsucht in the high scores.