Plasmodium - Towers of Silence (2021) Hi-Res

Though the murky world of extreme metal has been churning out an endless supply of new material over the 30 years plus since its rise to prominence, there are still a few surprises left in its arsenal, at least if the Australian act Plasmodium has anything to say on the matter. Having already established themselves as a wildcard within the atmospheric black and death metal sphere with a gargantuan, hour long debut excursion into their psychedelically-tinged dark aesthetic in 2016’s “Entheognosis,” their brand could be best described as a mystery, contained within a puzzle, wrapped in an enigma. Barring Matt “Skitz” Sanders, arguably one of the busiest drummers in the land down under handling the kit under the pseudonym Demoninacht, little is known as to who is handling what instrument in a recording capacity, which is oddly fitting given the highly murky and abstract demeanor of the sonic product they’re pushing.

In most respects, this album and, by necessary consequence, this band is more of an acquired taste that may well prove a challenging prospect for even those normally disposed to the ultra-long recordings of epic and atmospheric black metal extraordinaire outfits such as Midnight Odyssey and Mare Cognitum. It’s not an insurmountable task to unpack what is going on here, but the frequent digressions into what sounds like improvised guitar soloing and the almost disconnected character that the rest of the instrumentations exhibits relative to the drums and vocals is quite atypical. It has a sense of slowness to it that seems to fight against the rapid forays of the drums and the agitated character of the tremolo-steeped guitar riffing, but there is a cathartic quality to it all once the initial impression has subsided. It’s extremely competent for what it seeks to convey, and those who prefer their metal drawn out and contemplative in character will want to hear this, though its appeal to more impact-based metal fans may be a bit limited.