Regardless of blistering pace and old-school brutality and surge of decay, Foetorem’s “Incongruous Forms of Evergrowing Rot” is without a doubt one of the best albums I have stumbled upon this year, making it a highlight release from the Italian underground label. The slower passages are imbued with chilling soundscapes and heavy guitar chugging, evoking visions of desolate crypts. The guitars in the opening track “Reeks of Moldy Guts” set the tone for an otherworldly atmosphere, bringing cavernous, frightening riffs.

And without any warning, the Danes wreak havoc upon the listener through straightforward blast beats and monstrous gurgling growls. The slow guitar sections are well-placed; the mid-tempo parts contain catchy guitar hooks; the cavernous growls remain effective, evoking a dark, mysterious atmosphere that envelops the listener. Boisterous tremolos and heavy guitar chugging also provide a brutal climax in the track “Escalating Rot”.

Foetorem plays a murky style of death doom; their riffs are laden with sludge, and their mid-tempos exude a menacing feeling. There are plenty of blast beats, crashing cymbals, and crushing metallic groove sections that add to the unsettling style of these Danes, who capture sheer power.

The band brings a similar approach to Rottrevore in “Oozing with Pustulent Fluids”. The guitars create an impenetrable wall of sound, the rot of filthy riffing adding immense power, while the drums unleash blast beats, bringing a variety of fills and patterns. The gruesome album cover would give you the chills; the art depicts countless human skulls placed in a casket-shaped catacomb. The eerily gory feel paints the soundscape of death-doom in “Mors Viaturis – The Death Traveler”, which is one of my favorite tracks of this album.

Deep, guttural growls that carry offensive morbidities with crushing drum pace and double bass adding a flawless touch of brutality. The tempo slows down when the guitars provide sinister dirges to cavernous doom sections; nothing really settles on one tempo, but only the funereal tone of the sweeping atmosphere, which then erupts on “Rebirth in Morbid Disgust”, which is one of the highlight songs that brings some bleak moments, while the drumming performance provides extra strength and depth.

Each track offers excellent instrumentals that enhance the cavernous atmosphere. There are also some similarities to the Italian death-doom band Burial. The heaviness and grinding drums are perfectly balanced; the crushing pace captures the morbid atmosphere, especially the sludgy guitar sections. The guitars create a constant, layered dissonance, and melodic textures are often utilized.

Foetorem’s music possesses a bleak, evil, and oppressive sense of rot, and while listening to the track “Tapestries of Misery”, it fits the description above. The debut breaks the mold and showcases many of the old school death and doom elements that, at times, evoke bands like Disembowelment.

The final two tracks, “Decay of the Flesh” and “Peeled Face Mask”, reek a morbid atmosphere. The unhinged brutality is not enforced; instead, the band packs some down-tuned heaviness and mid-paced aggression with slow guitar textures backed by unbridled drumming. Foetorem forges a perfect balance between aggression and the dark, grotesque atmosphere in the final track, and the Danes present their talents; the guitars add illusive soundscapes that carry you in a casket towards the gnawing void of another dimension.

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