PATHETIC "Rat King"

PATHETIC

 “Rat King”

It seems Calgary is becoming a hotbed for extreme metal. I experienced CONCRETE FUNERAL last week and now we have the sick bastards of PATHETIC to contend with. This is one of my favorite pure death metal releases in 2019 so far. If you like filthy death-doom with monster riffs and sump pump vocals, there’s no way to go wrong with “Rat King”, despite the rather unfortunate name of the band, which is surely setting them up for many sarcastic remarks.

This record has got a great raw and putrid sound that takes a lot of inspiration from INCANTATION , but adds a groovier, sludgier element designed for pure headbanging pleasure. The lead solos sometimes almost have a stoner or Southern feel to them, such as the surprising ripper on “Natural Born Losers”, which erupts with full power and crushing riffs. The singer sounds like he just crawled up out of a sewer and growls throughout. Every song here has at least one great moment that will get your blood up. The best one comes about a minute and a half into “Going Postal”, where the song switches gears in awesome fashion.

Other highlights would be the pure death/sludge of “Frozen to Death” and the monster riffers “Slob” and “Defecating Upon the Grave of the Grand Wizard”. Incidentally, the Grand Wizard seems to be the one from the KKK, not the classic old school wrestling manager of the same name. That’s also a good place to mention that PATHETIC seems to be coming from a strong progressive stance, lyrically.

This is just an enjoyable sick album all the way around. I think the band name is not the best (maybe the album name “Rat King” would be better?) but don’t let that stop you from picking up this sleeper of an album from the Great White North.

PATHETIC