Cosmic Putrefaction is a one-man death metal band from Italy.

Here we have 34 minutes of progressive death metal, which takes us on a cosmic journey through the outer regions, taking in doom and black metal sights along the way.

The Horizons Towards Which Splendour Withers is death metal as art, and exists where brutality and ambition collide. Destructively devastating this may be, and a monstrous creation it certainly is, the album pushes itself beyond simple death metal, and succeeds in producing something very worthwhile because of this.

The artist obviously has a clear vision for what he wants to achieve, and the album works its dark magic quite quickly if you’re open to the style’s multifaceted charms. Otherworldly melodies streak out from the layered music, interesting riffs crash into you with impunity, atmospheric sections draw you in close, and barbed aggression beats you relentlessly with spiked gauntlets. There’s a lot of juicy content here, and it’s all delivered with expert care.

This is an extreme metal masterclass, and the various black, death, and doom metal elements are merged and exploited ruthlessly. The artist’s influences are all put to hard work, and the results speak for themselves. The Horizons Towards Which Splendour Withers is the sort of highly accomplished underground gem that comes around all too infrequently, so make sure you seize this with all of your might, as it’s worth getting lost in.

Very highly recommended.