FOSSILIZATION

"Listen to the voice of the void…" roars FOSSILIZATION frontman and creative driving force Thiago "Vakka" Oliveira during "Servo". Sage advice. After stunning death metal connoisseurs with their extraordinary debut album "Leprous Daylight" in 2023, these Brazilian brutalists are back to prove that it was no fluke. Purveyors of a uniquely clangorous and otherworldly strain of maximalist, hallucinatory death metal, FOSSILIZATION have such a distinctive sound that "Advent of Wounds" comes close to transcending the genre altogether. Steeped in the grim abominations of the old school, but fervently weird and gleefully oppressive, this is the sound of grinding tectonic plates and churning magma, and a wickedly remorseless alternative to much of the surface-level aggro that passes for extreme metal in 2026. While other bands compete to have the sickest riffs, the nastiest blasts, and the most guttural vocals, FOSSILIZATION are operating on a higher plane of musical consciousness, and as the intoxicating fury of "Cremation of a Seraph" erupts, any and all perceived competitions simply melts away.

While they intermittently evoke everything from the foggy horrors of PORTAL and BÖLZER to the blistering extremity of IMMOLATION, HATE ETERNAL and ANGELCORPSE, FOSSILIZATION are so instinctive and artful that they never truly sound like anyone else. "Advent of Wounds" is a revelatory piece of work, full of harrowing squalls of machine-gun malice and crushing, doom-hungry ordeals that dare to prise open the gates of subconscious hell, impervious to the existential consequences. Death metal doesn't have to be art: countless bands focus on its violent essence rather than its surreal potential. But FOSSILIZATION harness such dark power that these songs revel in their deliberate obscurity and make a virtue of overpowering the listener with the sheer density and impenetrability of their delivery. Whether it's the steamroller rage of "Disentombed and Reassembled" or the merciless, slow-motion hostility of "Servo", "Advent of Wounds" is an outrageous and immersive statement. There are riffs here that edge towards the fiendish catchiness of classic '90s death metal, but Vakka and guitarist comrade Zozi are audibly responding to their own, untamed urges here, and everything comes shrouded in arcane mystery and a grotesque, choking fog of overdriven sonic treacle. A song like "While the Light Lasts" would still be effective in less imaginative hands, but FOSSILIZATION have listened to the voice of the void and are echoing back its traumatic emptiness with the most astonishing dexterity and intuition.

A remarkable and bold leap forward from the certified brilliance of their debut, "Advent of Wounds" is a death metal album for those who have truly surrendered to the genre's hallowed, ageless essence. A potentially life-changing 36 minutes.