Spasmodia - Malicious Premonitions (Review)

I am a sucker for extreme metal releases, especially from India. While Gutslit might have climbed up the hierarchy to a point every Indian Metalheads knows their name, it's not the same story for every extreme band here. Last month saw the release of debut album of Cervicectomy, this month's spotlight has been taken by Spasmodia - a Mumbai based extreme metal setup consisting of Akhilesh Rao on guitars and bass and Keshav Javadekar (Biopsy) on vocals and drums. The band dropped their debut EP entitled "Malicious Premonitions'', and I'm here to discuss it.

The intro track “Cerebral Congenital Mutation” features catchy and technical riffs by Akhilesh Rao, with elements of dissonance mixed in it. The vocals by Keshav Javadekar are mainly gurgling lows, reminiscent of vocal style in slamming brutal death metal. Some of the passages in the halfway instantly remind of the caveman slam style of Devourment and Kraanium, which will be auditory pleasure for all the old-school slamheads out there. Not to forget the machine shreds almost like Rings of Saturn and Berried Alive comes out as a surprise and blows you right away. “Sacrilegious Execration '' provides another instance where dissonance of the riffs are mixed with the blast beats and double bass grooves on the drums. Expect some random high-screams on this track too.

With a sludgy intro from the start, “Acrimonious Defilement” wastes no time to establish the face-peeling grindcore riff supremacy. The imaginative passages and groovier inclinations are accompanied by elements of thrash, sludge, hardcore and grindcore. Tracks like “Manic Debauchery” and “Extricated” showcase some old-fashioned blast beats by Keshav, while proceeding with many dynamic shifts and interesting bass fillers. Even the insane pinch harmonics in “Extricated” are something to marvel at.

While rawness exists from a production standpoint, I can’t really compare for genres like slam/grind, and same for “Malicious Premonitions''. Every song on the record is a concise and energetic blast of catchy aggression. Let's be honest for a moment, Spasmodia is not everyone's cup of tea. Summing up in its entirety, a pleasingly filthy sound combined with the solid riffs, rapid blasts and well-placed grooves keep the things spicy for the entire runtime. "Malicious Premonitions'' is a memorable addition to the band's discography, and we will have to wait for what Spasmodia has to bring for us in the future!

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Website: https://www.facebook.com/spasmodia

Genre: Brutal Death Metal, Slamming Brutal Death Metal

Worldwide Release: April 15th, 2022.