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Formed in the early 2000s, Putridity <\/strong>are an Italian brutal death band. With roots as a solo project by a former member of Obscene Perversion<\/strong>, the outfit grew from a one-man-basement dream into a fully fledged lineup of slowly increasing reputation from infrequent release to release. A decade has passed since the previous full-length Ignominious Atonement, though the recently released Greedy Gory Gluttony EP finds the band with a refreshed but stable lineup and an enhanced taste for lethality. With last year being a stunning time for brutal death of all shapes and sizes, and this year already facing challenges from young bands and veterans alike, do these brutal statesmen have an argument for a place at the top of the beatings heap?<\/p>\n Morbid Ataraxia puts a lot of stock in its hefty production. A spacious tonal palate allows the nonstop battering-ram drumming of C\u00e9dric Malebolgia to erupt from underneath the riffs, with heavy emphasis put on snare violation and rapid-fire cymbal interplay. Vocalist Andrea Piro features a fierce guttural that channels the spirit of vintage Analepsy, <\/strong>human and caustic without deteriorating into pure trash compactor indecipherability. The tones of founder Putrid Ciccio and Manuel Lucchini unfortunately drown out bassist Giancarlo Mendo but make up for it in raw punch, straddling a perfect line between just enough treble for progressions to be heard and enough bottom end to sound like driving cement mixers. For an album that hinges on breakneck speed and more blasts than a military training ground, this breadth of clarity allows each savage moment to be present and accounted for with extreme prejudice to the listener.<\/p>\n \ufeffMorbid Ataraxia by Putridity<\/a><\/p>\n At its best, Morbid Ataraxia is a precise and clinical display of the \u201cnever-ending cyclone of riffs\u201d class of brutal death. Title track \u201cMorbid Ataraxia\u201d features a devastatingly foul plod of a chug while drums erupt with boiling rage underneath. \u201cOverflowing Mortal Smell\u201d manages to make a shuddering groove out of rarely placed halftime (for the tempo) riffage. Add more pinch harmonic-based phrasing than I can count, and time signature changes from measure to measure, and you have a recipe for a dose of relentless assault from cover to cover. The entire album is connected via samples, which range from ambient vocal gurgling and a (possibly unintentional) throwback to a vintage Skinless<\/strong> cut to the far more unsettling. The unexpectedly ambient ebb and flow of the album, with the samples bisecting various tracks and the constant gargling throughout the empty spaces lends Morbid Ataraxia a proper LP vibe, meant to be consumed in one sitting from beginning to end.<\/p>\n However, the worst thing about Morbid Ataraxia is that it\u2019s a precise and clinical display of the \u201cnever-ending cyclone of riffs\u201d class of brutal death. An excessive overreliance on pinch harmonics and monochrome snare abuse give the first half of the album a monotonous feeling, where each track feels like it could be substituted into another slot without impacting much of the album\u2019s flow. Putridity<\/strong> traffic heavily in a vintage Deeds of Flesh<\/strong> approach to riff-craft, with moment to moment flowing into itself with little thought of hooks or repetition or accessibility. That\u2019s fine, to a point; certainly big anthemic choruses aren\u2019t what we are here for. But depending entirely on an \u201ceverything and the kitchen sink\u201d approach to song craft means you need your individual riffs to actually pack a punch beyond their tone, and here is where the album falls flat. Two songs in, you will have heard every bag of tricks Putridity<\/strong> has to offer; not just the harmonics but limited drum styling, minimal lead flourishes, and speedy grinding chord progressions, all of which are quite lethal in their immediacy but ineffective in retaining attention \u2019til the back half of the album.<\/p>\n Putridity<\/strong> is a good band, and Morbid Ataraxia is a fine album, but the few highs it has presented have left me wanting more. The production is a delight, and individual performances are certainly top-notch. However, the band fails in overcoming brutal death\u2019s greatest hurdle, which is to be perpetually interesting and not just obscenely heavy. The approach of stitching all the tracks together implies a concept of some sort, and I\u2019d like to see them continue this approach in the future, but with widened wings in the composition department. For now, if you\u2019re still chasing the brutality dragon, Putridity <\/strong>have you covered; just consider the artwork and don\u2019t ask what you\u2019re covered in.<\/p>\n Rating: <\/strong>2.5\/5.0 \n\tGive in to Your Anger:\n<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/206316-500x375.jpg\")
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DR: <\/strong>8 | Format Reviewed: <\/strong>320 kbps mp3
Label: <\/strong>Willowtip Records<\/a>
Websites:<\/strong> Album Bandcamp<\/a> |<\/strong> Official Instagram<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: <\/strong>June 27th, 2025<\/p>\n