optisailor2002
Finland's Cavus in 2009 crashed out of nowhere with their self-released debut self-titled EP. A year later, the band has signed to Listenable Records and release their debut full length release, Fester and Putrefy. Finnish black metal has often been characterised by the raw and cold sound exemplified by bands like Sargeist and Satanic Warmaster, but already evident from 2009's Cavus, Cavus aims to bring in a more aggressive touch to their black metal.
Opening track Sea of Tongues almost sounds as if the band had recorded this in a rehearsal studio, with the seemingly random notes that are plucked out of the guitar, though the inhuman growls and shrieks by W at the background helps to bring about a sinister atmosphere in the music. Just as it was about to border on being draggy, the band breaks into Fist of a Titan, and true to the song title, the cacophony immediately hits the listener in the face relentlessly. The band's aggressive style is somewhat reminiscent of Swedish black metal horde Marduk, with the urgent pace that drummer T.T.T. sets up and the heavy riffs unleashed by guitarists B.P. and J.K.. Vocalist W, while not as gruff as those of Marduk's Mortuus, manages to bring about some resemblance with the usage of growls instead of the shrieking-style as preferred by his other Finnish black metal counterparts. The drums of T.T.T. are the personal highlight on Fester and Putrefy. The punishing hits on the snare on songs like Discovering Through Suffering are some good examples of what he is capable of, sounding like a machine-gunner go out of control.
The one thing that could probably affect Fester and Putrefy is the songwriting on the album. While the aggression of the band certainly shines through, the album fails at containing variety in the songs, with most of the tracks making use of similar formulae and song structures, resulting in songs sounding similar to each other, and the 45 minute runtime could prove to be slightly too boring and draggy and risk getting pointless towards the end of the album. The band tries to be innovative at times though, with the quirky intro on Death Rattle, but even moments like these are too sporadic to be noteworthy as the band soon goes back to their usual style. The song also does incorporate some shout-a-long moments with the chorus that reminds listeners of some of Watain's later works, though this is considerably more bestial and abrasive.
If one loves the more straightforward and brutal style of black metal, Fester and Putrefy would definitely have the potential to fulfil that thirst, though one shouldn't expect too much surprises on the album. That said though, Fester and Putrefy has been a pretty enjoyable release personally.
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