Year: 2020
Total Time: 36:20
Label: Selfmadegod Records
In the now distant 2012, there was a period when I was looking for bands that would come from the most “noisy” branches of the Extreme sound universe, starting from Grindcore, Hardcore, Crust Punk to Sludge, but they would tend to challenge the musical limits of their respective core, with unorthodox experimentation and pervasive black metal atmosphere. This search notified me of exceptional bands of North American origin with YOUNG AND IN THE WAY, MUTILATION RITES, WRECK AND REFERENCE and WAKE mainly standing out.
The geographical monopoly on this pattern was broken by the Athenian trio of DEPHOSPHORUS (emerged from the ashes of STRAIGHTHATE) with their first complete release, “Night Sky Transform”. The Death/Grind core enriched with blackened sludge aesthetics, the intense Hardcore / Punk vocals of Panos Agoros and the cosmic atmosphere with the interstellar invocations in the awesome “Aurora” impressed me and won me over from the first listening. A distinct, purely personal sound design, which they so eloquently characterize as Astrogrind. The addition of John Votsis to druming duties gave, the most exuberant “Ravenous Solemnity” of 2014, greater dynamism with constant changes in speed and emotions, as a DEATHSPELL OMEGA aura proudly hovers in 2-3 pieces. After joining Polish Selfmadegod Records, in 2017’s “Impossible Orbits” they slightly differentiated their approach, choosing a more riff-o-centric way of expression with clearer crust punk orientations, which lacked in rhythmic alternations but due to the significantly improved production enhanced the electrical intensity and the «in your face» character of the material.
In September, DEPHOSPHORUS released their fourth full-length album “Sublimation”, thematically inspired by the eponymous theory of the “silent” dimensional battles, as presented by the Scottish Iain M. Banks in his last Sci-fi book «The Hydrogen Sonata». The peculiarity of their themes coincides with the peculiarities of their musical explorations in “Sublimation”, while the increased presence of Greek lyrics makes its narrative facade more attractive. The vocals are more suffocating (almost heart-wrenching), the guitar work by Thanos Mantas is thunderous, releasing a barrage of catchy riffs, while it is clear that after the arrival of Kostas Ragiadakos on bass, the Rhythm Section sounds more compact and solid than ever in its addictive BOLT THROWER-ish groove. The ability of DEPHOSPHORUS to wander in a wide range of extreme music idioms, extending from Black, Death, Grind, Post-Hardcore to Crust Punk, Sludge Metal thrives in their more mature release, where every change in rhythm, speed, mood is effortless and fully harmonized as a single aural wave, with the fresh use of ambient electronic sounds enhancing their interstellar dimension. The stormy “Βορά των αιώνων (Devoured By Aeons)” and “Προς το απόκοσμο φως του πυρήνα (Towards the Eerie Light of the Core)”, the “Absurd Aftermath” with the cymbals,chants and most rock-ish mood and the epic more mid-tempo seven-minute “The Mists Rose Like Departing Dreams” stand out personally, although the album is enjoyed in its entirety and is definitely recommended for consecutive spins.
DEPHOSPHORUS present with “Sublimation” their highest quality release and overall one of the most authentic proposals in the global extreme underground. With their own Astrogrind as a navigator in the dystopia of the present, they invite you to challenge your imagination and wander in worlds not so distant … as they squarely claim IMAGINATION IS FUTURE HISTORY …
Rating: 7.5/10
Editor: George Kolyvanos
Related Link: DEPHOSPHORUS – Bandcamp Page
