Morbific deliver exactly what their aesthetic promises: nasty, groovy death metal perfect for foul moods. Their album Bloom of the Abnormal Flesh immediately establishes its territory with a warm, yet distinctly wet sound. An introductory piece welcomes you to the moldy environment the music inhabits, quickly shifting into mid-tempo death metal that recalls the lurching heaviness of bands like Undergang. The band even incorporates actual wet samples between tracks, enhancing the sodden atmosphere.
Vocalist Jusa Janhonen concocts a truly disgusting performance, his delivery of a phlegm-ridden expulsion perfectly suited to the music’s rotten core. Morbific generally avoid frenzied tempos; even during faster sections, the warm, soft production mix maintains a layer of palpable nastiness, evident on tracks such as “Panspermic Blight.” The band excels at combining groove-laden death metal with goregrind’s visual and sonic filth. Imagine early Carcass, but the subjects escaped the morgue and festered for months until they achieved a morbid bloom.
This core sound occasionally incorporates touches of psychedelia before snapping back to stomping, infectious rhythms. The bass work deserves specific praise; the four-string receives ample spotlight throughout the album, cutting through the grime. Morbific readily integrate diverse elements like distinct bass and guitar solos alongside unidentifiable samples, blending everything into a cohesive, putrid whole that evokes the 90s sprawl of gore-obsessed bands. One slight misstep appears with the inclusion of an interlude, a track type that adds little value here. “Hydraulic Slaughter” effectively showcases the band’s doomier inclinations, featuring heavy bass presence, slower riffing, and increased reverb.
Bloom of the Abnormal Flesh makes no attempt at progressive innovation. Instead, Morbific dig deeper into their chosen vein of filth. While this unwavering focus might sound monotonous to some listeners, fans of the specific retro-OSDM style that emerged over the last decade should find this exploration of decay utterly thrilling. Morbific confidently carve out their niche within this sound.
