UMUR "The Perpetuated Festering" is the debut full-length studio album by Dutch death metal act Necrotesque. The album was independently released in January 2023. Necrotesque formed in 2021 and released the "The Necrotic Grotesque" EP in November 2021. "The Perpetuated Festering" was preceded by a couple of digital teaser singles in "Cesium 137" and "Geriatric Cranium Crusher". Both tracks are included on "The Perpetuated Festering".

Stylistically the material on "The Perpetuated Festering" is a continuation of the mid-paced, heavy, and groove laden old school death metal style of "The Necrotic Grotesque". While Necrotesque have evolved a bit since the EP, and the Grave influence isn´t as obvious here as it was on the EP, it´s still Grave I´m mostly reminded of when listening to "The Perpetuated Festering" (Bloodbath is another valid reference).

"The Perpetuated Festering" features a brutal, meaty, and detailed sounding production job and add to that effecful and memorable songwriting, and a well playing band, and it´s a good quality debut album by Necrotesque. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "The Necrotic Grotesque" is an EP release by Dutch death metal act Necrotesque. The EP was independently released in November 2021. Necrotesque formed in 2021 in Helmond, North Brabant and "The Necrotic Grotesque" is their debut release. The EP features six tracks and a total playing time of 26:47 minutes, so it´s a relatively long EP release...

...which is fortunate because fans of old school death metal are advised to give this one a good listen, and with a release length like this there´s more than enough time to get acquainted with the sound of Necrotesque. Stylistically Necrotesque play a massive, fat, and meaty type of old school death metal which reminds me a lot of Grave, but generally features more variation than the Swedes. The riffs are heavy and the music features a brutal driving groove but also slower more doomy parts. This is not blastbeat type death metal.

Lead vocalist Lodewijk van Doorn has a brutal growling delivery but there´s also a slight aggression to his growling, which provides the music with a little extra spice. His delivery still is slightly one-dimensional though but it works well with the instrumental part of the music.

"The Necrotic Grotesque" features a massive, brutal, and bottom heavy sound production, which suits the material perfectly. Upon conclusion "The Necrotic Grotesque" is a good quality EP release from Necrotesque and considering that it´s the band´s first release, it´s quite impressive. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.