Escarnium – Inexorable Entropy (Review)

This is the fourth album from Brazilian death metallers Escarnium.

Inexorable Entropy contains 31 minutes of ferocious death metal brutality. Escarnium’s furious assault is a satisfying and enjoyable one.

Starting off, there is a pointless intro, (because of course there is). Removing this waste-of-space track results in a superior experience overall. There is also an interlude later, but unexpectedly it’s quite good, and fits in with the overall tone of the album. Other than this, the record is all killer, no filler. Inexorable Entropy is a monster. Escarnium immediately impress with their grasp of death metal dynamics and hostile force, but deliver more than just this. The band get down to business, tearing out death metal songs that combine violence with malevolence.

The blast beats are punishing, the riffs dark and aggressive, and the sinister atmospheres are insidious. The latter – Escarnium’s atmospheric depth – is part of the reason I like Inexorable Entropy so much. The blasting brutality and bone-breaking heaviness is great, but it’s good that it is delivered as part of a wider musical package. Escarnium focus on mood and feeling just as much as brutality, resulting in an album of savage darkness that’s as transportive as it is hostile.

Very good stuff here from Escarnium. Don’t miss this if you’re a fan of bands such as Cruciamentum, Fossilization, Immolation, Incantation, Phobophilic, Phrenelith, etc.