The brooding dimensions of doom metal, when combined with the bludgeoning gifts of death metal, can go so many interesting places, and Anatomia has managed to open a number of doors with their motley merger of the two primal forces in heavy metal’s most infernal genres.
Throughout Cranial Obsession, the music rocks back and forth between hypnotic dirges and clobbering riffs that honor death metal’s most sacred pioneers like Morbid Angel, Entombed, and Obituary. In fact, one might draw parallels to Entombed’s sophomore album Clandestine.
Anatomia’s riffs echo with that same abrasive sound that conjures images of death and decay. Although doom certainly is the more prominent style in the album, don’t let that mislead you into thinking Anatomia isn’t capable of pulling some really brutal mid-tempo riffs.
The Japanese rarely disappoint in categories of extreme metal, so it should be no shocker that Anatomia is really good at what they do.
My favorite song on the album hits at the midway point; “Excarnated” is a cryptic tune that combines gargled chanting over a looped series of foreboding chords for nearly ten minutes. This is an outstanding use of minimalism to convey darker energy without exhausting the listener. One might even feel themselves slipping away into Japan’s ominous Sea of Trees. Toward the conclusion, the song twists into a nefarious procession that befits the track title.
Anatomia’s Cranial Obsession fulfills all of the raw and rough edges of death metal without compromising the lethargy of a classic doom metal act.
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