Pathetic's new album, “Cleansing the Land of the Infidel,” is a historical account of unspeakable atrocities during the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Using their merciless and raw death metal talents, the band is able to record a concept album that highlights some of the most despicable crimes ever perpetrated in human history.
I have been watching this Canadian trio for a few years now and must say that their ability to build-off the momentum from their previous releases is extremely impressive. I don’t know how, but Canadian rock and metal bands seem to have this ambitious nature about them to where each new release gets better and better. Last year Pathetic released their debut full-length album, “Rat King,” which was a pure savage cannibal like slaughter fest of putrid sounding death metal. On, “Cleansing the Land of the Infidel,” they keep that same mentality, however, they also incorporate a variety of extreme sounding elements to craft a dynamic album. The speed metal riffs provide a frantic touch, while the slower gruesome death metal sections leave a battle field of thunderous sounding damnation.
The album begins with a composition called, “Death of an Empire Part 1,” that makes you feel like you are marching straight into an abysmal world that has been ravaged by war. Eventually the music takes a drastic turn and guitarist Spencer Kraft starts laying down blistering lead guitar parts while bassist AJ Kovar and drummer Duncan Chisholm maintain a fearsome rhythm section. This is where the more speed metal like riffs really gives the album a scorching flare of aggression that continues to transpire throughout the album.
Overall, the band builds an atmosphere of pure chaos which one would expect to accompany lyrical themes about the Armenian Genocide. Songs like, “Cleansing the Land of the Infidel,” “Famine on Mount Lebanon,” and “Raping Assyria,” are venomous cuts of brutality that never lose that malevolent sounding momentum. I have heard some bands that talk about writing songs about historical atrocities and end up creating a musical atrocity by writing completely boring riffs and recording piss poor vocals. Pathetic completely nails every aspect that a fan of extreme music could want when writing a war themed album.
The ending track, “A Nation is Born,” serves as a calming outro and features Spencer’s diverse lead guitar approach. Another area of this album that stood out to me was the lead guitar playing and how the parts were recorded. I know some players wish to record clean and fluid sweep picking leads, but on this album that would not work and you needed something a bit more raw. Again, I like Pathetic’s sound because they are not going for a pristine sounding album. Simply put, the recording quality matched the band’s destructive musical vision and unforgiving attitude.
If you want an extreme metal album that throws in some haunting historical themes, then you definitely want to check out, “Cleansing the Land of the Infidel.” I think that kids might actually learn more about history from death metal music than what they are teaching in some of the schools nowadays. All those people who think extreme metal music is a bad influence on children fail to see the educational value it can provide. Yes people, I think we need more metal music in schools and I might start lobbying for it.
Check out the entire album below:
Pathetic bandcamp:
https://pathetic666.bandcamp.com/album/cleansing-the-land-of-the-infidel
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