Quebec City’s Sedimentum left a strong impression on death metal fans with their 2019 demo, and they’ve been slowly building upon that with other smaller releases over the last few years. 2022 sees the release of their full-length debut Suppuration morphogénésiaque, and the band has continued to expand upon their filthy, cavernous sound while still offering quite a bit of variety and memorable riffs. Coming in somewhere between the nastier sounding Finnish death metal of the 90s and some of the more cavernous American bands, Sedimentum has a familiar sound but the quality of the songwriting elevates this effort to be a must listen.
Within death metal, there has been an emphasis on nailing the right amount of filth and grime as well as offering some of the densest, cavernous production values around. When done right, this allows for groups to iterate on classic foundations and push outwards to find their own nuances, but plenty have failed to provide riffs that stand out underneath. This is where Sedimentum succeeds, as they immediately grab you with crushingly heavy and dense riffs that feel like they’re drowning you in a sewer, but their songwriting regularly shifts gears and has individual moments that stand out from one track to the next. At times they go for more straightforward blasting and D-beat oriented sections, while other moments slow things down to more of a death/doom approach. It’s a mixture that recalls the grime and intensity of classic Finnish death metal or newer Danish acts such as Undergang, but I also found myself thinking of Sedimentum as a more D-beat driven take on Drawn and Quartered at certain points too. They still manage to put their own spin on things too, shaking up the formula with drum patterns or transitions that keep the material fresh and memorable. The compact nature of Suppuration morphogénésiaque allows for riff after riff to grab listeners without overstaying their welcome, and even when songs like “Supplice” hit the seven-minute mark and go a bit more doom they don’t feel too stretched out. I also appreciate the way the recording embraces that heavy and murky sound while retaining a crispness to the drums that makes each snare hit stand out, as it channels a very similar approach to many of the foundational albums from the 90’s.
Sedimentum’s vocals pair up well with the instrumentation, as the main approach is a low-pitched growl that sometimes reaches an Undergang-esque gurgle. The growls reverberate over the top of the recording with a dark and sinister presence, and while the band does allow them to break free of the instrumental layers they also don’t drown out the details either. On some songs there are some backing ranges that are a bit raspier, and the breaks into higher shrieks on the title track before the growls take over sends chills down my spine every time. Again, the styles that Sedimentum showcase here are familiar, but they have the right amount of intensity and variety to keep listeners interested from beginning to end and that makes all the difference.
Sometimes the tone and riffs of an album make it click immediately, and I had a feeling from the first few minutes of “Krypto Chronique II” that Sedimentum’s debut was likely to be a best of the year candidate for me. Thankfully the remainder of the material keeps that same high standard, offering up blasting, grooves, and murky atmosphere in all the right doses, and if you’re a fan of this type of death metal this album is a must have. They have set themselves a high bar, and here’s hoping this group maintains this upward trajectory moving forward. Suppuration morphogénésiaque is available from Me Saco Un Ojo Records and Memento Mori.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
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