Review by Saxy S for Noxis - Violence Inherent in the System (2024)
What would happen if you took the brutality of early death metal giants like Cannibal Corpse and Cryptopsy, and proceeded to spice them up with Imperial Triumphant's technicality and progression? Well you'll likely end up with something similar to Noxis. This band was a recent discovery And I was quite impressed by the result.
I do have to stress that this kind of death metal is not my strong suit; I do like progressive music, but Noxis are a little bit too far off the technical side then I'm comfortable with. That being said, the songwriting capability on Violence Inherent in the System is very memorable. Even though this album does have some wild tempo and style changes throughout the individual songs, something about them feels interconnected. Riffs are not as quickly discarded as they are introduced to the audience, instead these riffs are mutated almost to the point of unrecognizable as the song progresses, as the songs main motifs are blended together into something new and exciting, creating a cacophony of sound at the end of tracks and really embracing the brutality of its early influences like Cannimbal Corpse and Dying Fetus.
Whereas the Imperial Triumphant comparisons come through in the albums engineering and production. It is alarming (nay, I say unheard of) where a bass can receive so much prominence on a death metal record. Metal music as a whole has a terrible habit of leaving a true fundamental part of the band hanging out to dry while the down tuned guitars try to mask this deficiency. More often than not, these projects, whose main objective is to sound heavier, end up becoming quite the opposite. With Violence Inherent in the System, no such issues exits. Paired with a bass drum that is not overcooked where it sounds like my ears are popping every time a kick is played, and suddenly, the records more ethereal moments, like the bridge on "Tense and Forlorn" do not emit a sense of deflecting. Despite the style change, it still feels heavy and creates a feeling of belonging, even if it may only serve as an interlude before more technical death riffage.
The album certainly starts to become more progressive as it chugs on, with the most direct change happening after the interlude "Excursion". "Horns Echo over Chorazim", "Violence Inherent in the System" and "Emanations of the Sick" begin to include more instrumental solo breaks, which is not only a nice change of pace from the relentless riffage of the first half of the album, but their appearance is not so forceful and demanding that it distracts from everything else, like it would with thrash records. But that begs the question: what do I think of the solo on "Horns Echo over Chorazim"? For the first real solo break on the album, it does feel a little out of place. The drastic timbre change and instrumentation is a little alienating... but you notice it. Just when you think Violence Inherent in the System is beginning to slow down, out of nowhere comes a clarinet solo to slap you across the face and bring your attention back solely to this record. You might be disappointed that it is the only appearance of such a solo on the album, but its introduction to part 2 is emphatic and sets the pace for the rest of the album as well.
I do enjoy Violence Inherent in the System. For the type of influence that it takes, it has never been a style that enthralled me. Technical death metal is far outside my comfort zone of normal listening although I have opened my eyes to such sounds in recent years. And while this record does have its moments that make me sigh and murmur "here we go again..." I also think it has enough new trends to stand out among the contemporaries, rather than just copying the greats, as most 20 Buck Spin death metal bands do these days. A sure recommendation from me, even for those who are hesitant about technical/progressive death metal.
Best Songs: Blasphemous Mausoleum for the Wicked, Abstemious, Pious Writ of Life, Torpid Consumption, Horns Echo over Chorazim, Tense and Forlorn