21st January 2025

Review: “Collapse of Fractured Reality” by Divine Excruciation

The playwright William Congreve once wrote “Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast. To soften rocks, or bend the knotted oak“. A sentence often miss quoted as “Music soothes the savage beast“, its a reminder that one man’s sow’s ear is anothers silk purse and some beasts are more savage than others. Aurora, Colorado is home to Brutal Death Metal two piece Divine Excruciation, a DIY or DIE project comprising vocalist Bryce Mizrahy and multi instrumentalist Nathaniel Damarelos. Together they’ve unleashed an EP titled “Collapse of Fractured Reality“ recorded, mixed, and mastered by the aforementioned Damarelos, which leaves us wondering, just how savage is their definition of the word?

Joined by Dime from Biomorphic Engulfment, opening cut “Planetary Impregnation” is nothing short of a full on sonic assault on the senses. 10,000 volts of restless and relentless energy triggers a brain hemorrhage as the drums rattle off bursts of violent turbulence like gun fire in a war zone, accompanied by the kind of breakneck speed riffing usually associated with Technical Death Metal bands like Archspire and Inferi. The vocals are brutal, ranging from Death Metal to Slam stylings with a few pig squeals thrown in for good measure. After that brick the skull you might think the duo would show some signs of slowing down but instead, if anything, they increase the intensity with “Cerebral Atrophy“. A barbed cut with a few Beatdown riffs in the mix, this one slices, dices and leaves a bloody mess for you to clean up afterwards. “Prelude to Annihilation” them sees the band joined by David Assari from Human Paint as they tear a new hole in the fabric of space and time. Menacing and sinister chugging riffs make up the mid section as Damarelos plays with swiftly executed tempo changes in order to inflict the maximum possible damage with his rhythmic guile and damn but it works like a charm. The battering ram that is “Endless Relentlessness” takes things to a whole new level of pain, rampaging through the streets like a killer on the loose. Mizrahy’s vicious barks in the final downtempo moments are lethal and they make you wonder if the duo will ever go full band and destroy venues by performing these cuts live. The ethereal orchestrated cinematic introduction to “Collapse of Fractured Reality” is a moment no one saw coming until it was too late, the duo tearing it asunder as they reach critical mass with their most effective demonstration of power. Switching between Beatdown and Technical Death Metal with consummate ease this one punches harder than a prize fighter in the heavyweight division, even before the funky almost 80’s moment before the final crushing verse. All in all this one is heavier than a bucket of bolts but has an undeniable swagger, so be warned, listen to this and you might find your next guilty pleasure [7/10]

Track Listing