22nd September 2023

Review: “Scarification” by Denihilist (6th Anniversary)

Formerly known as Hail to the King, Deyton Ohio Deathcore collective Denihilist have been a growing concern since somewhere around 2011, releasing an album and EP under their old name and two EPs under the new one. Their name means they stubbornly refuse to believe that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value and have a reputation for reducing venues to rubble with their bass sound. As the band are active again after a period of silence, releasing singles including the class act that is “Sin Eater“, we return to their sophomore EP “Scarification” for a sixth anniversary review.

Coming to face down in the gutter, the sounds of “Commence” echo nauseatingly around the brain in disorientating fashion offers a far more real torture chamber experience than the one comedically depicted in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. The battering of Deathcore Groove accompaniment sets the scene with a sinister and menacing undertone, for it’s not what you just heard but what you’re about to hear that will put the fear of a wrathful God into you. The punishment beating starts with “Evocation” which has flavours of the heavy end of 2003 era Metalcore in amongst the stuccato riff infestations and perfectly executed “Bleigh!” moment. The flames of aggression reach new heights with some Traitors styled moments in the back end, the sheer power of the band surging through the ear drums in electrifying fashion. Thunderous percussive battery with eerie tension filled leads brings in “Bohemia“, another powerhouse of a blunt force truma, drummer Drew Creager proving his worth with a driven display of prowess. Darick Faul keeps the neck snapping riffs coming with the spine juddering “Cowardice“, a pulverising two step able cut that is accompanied by another scalding vocal from Jordan Melsop, a man who has seemingly no end of enemies to rant and rave about. Well thought out samples add atmosphere to break up the flow of the darkness a little and the one that users in “Abrupt Decay” is particularly important with the band starting to flow into the polyrhythmic onslaught of DJent fuelled aggression. Variety is the spice of life and here that feels like a well executed move that doesn’t change the dynamic or volume of the bands seismic activity. At times sounding like Emmure meeting Reflections down a dark alley with a Baseball bat but none more so than on the huge and horrific “B.O.S“, this is a record that has stood the test of time and retains its full force of impact [8/10]