Review: “Sorrow Will Drown Us All” by Recorruptor

Sometimes things don’t go according to plan and you’ve just got to roll with the punches. If you’d asked Michigan based Death Metal crew Recorruptor back in 2020 when they unleashed sophomore album “The Funeral Corridor” which paved the way for regional touring and support slots with such household names as Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder and Suffocation to name but a few, how long it would be before their next record, we doubt they would have said five years. However if you don’t count “Malediction Upon the Unholy“, their one song contribution to split EP “Horrendous” with Redlord in October 2022 then that is how long it has been. There have been reasons for that of course, the great plague years and the departure of guitarist Caleb Susman in 2023 adding insult to injury. He’s since been replaced by Isaac Marier of Triangulations fame but curiously enough, one look at the liner notes and you’ll notice that this third studio record “Sorrow Will Drown Us All” was actually recorded in 2023…

For those not in the know, Marier joins bassist Alex Schmidt (ex-From Blue to Gray), drummer Josh Moore (ex-Cemetary Desekrator, ex-Defaced, ex-Disfigyerd), vocalist Clint Franklin (ex-Condition: Critical) and guitarist Seth Earl (Bone Helmet, ex-Condition: Critical, 6 Prong Paw) for this magnum opus, introduction piece “Bathe in the Ashes of Heaven” setting the scene with almost ethereal vocals and cinematic orchestrations. You can just feel the bloodlust building over the course of that 106 seconds and when title track “Sorrow Will Drown Us All” strikes, it strikes hard and fast. A Technical Death Metal cut with flavours of Psycroptic that flirts with Deathcore, it smashes and dashes with electrifying energy at the tempo of the damned. A blistering whammy bar drop solo sends a shiver down the spine as Franklin gargles blood, reminding us just how demonic he can be when he’s at his finest. The rampage continues into “Bearing the Befouled Spawn” as Moore produces another demonstration of immense power from behind the drum stool, double kicks and blasting his way through the material like a man possessed. If there was anything even vaguely resembling fat in their previous material, the rejuvenated five piece have trimmed it to the bone to conjure a sonic cocktail that is as neck snapping as it gets. Buried orchestrations add a sinister undertone to this one, the spellbinding solo not dampening the sonic intensity even for a nanosecond. Even a distorted spoken word that steps away from the caustic uncleans is nothing short of nasty. As if making up for lost time, the juggernaut that is “Within the Vault” finds Franklin sounding feral, his death growls and shrill screeches giving the impression of two vocalists where there is in fact one. The pacing is insanely fast and by the time its over, it leaves you, the discerning listener, breathless.

There is fleeting respite at the beginning of “Urn of Verglas” with momentary introduction piece before the band once again reach critical mass, Melodic Death Metal influenced leads creeping into the sinister and dramatic cut that feels like it could be an Ingested demo. You may even find yourself screaming along with Franklin by the end of this one, it’s that good. Bringing back the blasting “Envenoming” sounds like a nightmare brought into reality as the guitars chug and the drums pound, Franklin’s demonic roars not for the first time reaching into the void into Slam inspired territories. An exploration of Apotemnophilia, a psychological disease that causes the insatiable desire to amputate ones own body parts “An Unnatural Lust” hits as hard as a prize fighter in a bare knuckle boxing match when the opponent slanderously mentions your mother. Another spellbinding piece of melodic soloing is masterfully done, giving a little respite from the rhythmic assault on the senses that is absolutely crushing. By this point in the record there is no doubt the band looked at each other knowing they had an award winning formula, the downright disgusting “Devoured by Centipedes” sounding like the storyline of a low budget horror film. A vicious piece of vocal venom with razor sharp riffage and restless and relentless kit work, its an unstoppable force of nature. Even the bass solo mid cut is impressive before the pomp and circumstance of the riffage in the second half as Franklin twists and contorts offering hitherto unheard levels of vocal depravity.

The bass bleeds through the mix at points on “Insidious Rot“, behaving more like a third guitar as Recorruptor wage war on your ear drums once more, the slick nature of this beast the kind of thing that makes you sit back and just smile. As if that wasn’t enough Death Metal brilliance to shimmer like gold in the pale moon light, “Putrid Aberration of Malevolent Divinity” is like a lightening bolt from a wrathful god. Dark and menacing with some seriously evil moments vocally, the guitars cut like wire as if designed for circle pits that tear a hole in the time space continuum. Violently turbulent it could easily be the soundscape to a scene in a Robert Rodriguez directed horror movie where the protagonist slices and dices their way out of hell, one demon at a time. Building the atmospheric interlude piece “Death at the Hands of His Image” is affectively the introduction to a final flourish which finds Enrico H. Di Lorenzo of Hideous Divinity lending his throat. The surprise is perhaps that “Scourge of Prometheus” doesn’t match the all out speed of the previous cuts all of the time, instead ebbing and flowing with tempo changes that twist and contort alongside the lyrical narrative. Cleverly constructed, those manoeuvres doesn’t break the oppressive atmosphere or electrifying energy levels, which is a testament the musicianship above all else. What impresses the most is how the band have integrated the orchestrations as they push on Extreme Metal boundaries without overpowering anything else, the mix being nailed perfectly. A record that is a non stop adrenaline rush from start to finish, this one will leave you with a brain haemorrhage if you let it [8.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Bathe in the Ashes of Heaven
2. Sorrow Will Drown Us All
3. Bearing the Befouled Spawn
4. Within the Vault
5. Urn of Verglas
6. Envenoming
7. An Unnatural Lust
8. Devoured by Centipedes
9. Insidious Rot
10. Putrid Aberration of Malevolent Divinity
11. Death at the Hands of His Image
12. Scourge of Prometheus (ft. Enrico H. Di Lorenzo of Hideous Divinity)

“Sorrow Will Drown Us All” by Recorruptor is out 18th July 2025