Um, so the Metal album of the year is here already? Quite possibly! Venom Prison’s latest is this vicious slab of experiments in extremes. It’s nasty. It’s gnarly. It’s fast. And it’s fuckin’ brilliant.
Samsara is one of those records that, after your first listen through, you’ll get giddy each and every time you press “play” going forward because you know what’s coming and you’ll be excited at the prospect of discovering something new.
Which is the case when opener “Matriphagy” begins, crossing genres by merging Extreme Metal with Black Metal, and solidly pummels listeners while also setting the stage of what’s to come. And what’s to come is “Megillus & Leana” which is another blast of in your face with vocalist Larissa Stupar’s screams resonating until the last chord rings out. “Uterine Industrialisation” is controlled chaos incarnate showcasing Ash Gray and Ben Thomas’ monstrous dynamic and double guitar attacks while Stupar is almost reminiscent of Phil Anselmo’s recent extreme vocal styles during “Self Inflicted Violence”.
“Deva’s Enemy” is the only reprieve from the sonic pummeling…and that’s only because the minute and a half ditty is an instrumental! Back to the fury, “Asura’s Realm” is a no holds barred Extreme Thrash masterpiece. It’s as if Metallica and Slayer were thrown in a blender with these screaming guitars that break up that aural beating. “Sadistic Rituals” slows up in the tempo area, settling into a nice groove in between blast beat outbreaks, but makes up for it in the intensity region until “Implementing The Metaphysics Of Morals” just goes for it with Stupar at the forefront, viciously spewing a bevy of aggressive styles at listeners.
“Dukkha” begins with thunderous drumming before devolving into a lesson in how to shred from Gray and Thomas with Stupar’s monster growl presiding over the proceedings. Then the end comes in the form of “Naraka”, a fittingly brutal conclusion that crosses genres and styles just as effectively as the rest of Samsara did before this epic sonic battering shuts everything down.
Samsara is out through Prosthetic Records on March 15th and can be pre-ordered now by clicking here or here. For more on Venom Prison, including live dates, head on over here.