Dephosphorus – Planetoktonos (Review)

This is the fifth album from Greek grindcore band Dephosphorus.

Dephosphorus play an extreme metal amalgamation of hardcore, grind, death metal, and black metal. It’s vicious, inventive, and rather tasty. Over 28 minutes Planetoktonos showcases what Dephosphorus are capable of in no uncertain terms.

Grind with a sci-fi theme? With other extreme metal influences too? Sign me up!

This is grindcore with creative flourishes and a central vision for extremity. In fact, the term grindcore doesn’t fully encapsulate the Dephosphorus experience. Astrogrind is the band’s favoured term, and who am I to argue? Psychedelic and electronic elements occasionally surface to infect the songs, driving the insidious black and lethal death metal aspects of the music into frenzied overload. It’s aggressive and dynamic. Contrasting this though is a sense of restraint and controlled worldbuilding, allowing Dephosphorus to work their stylistic charms with their influences. Planetoktonos may rage with a fierce intensity, but it also has an atmospheric side to it that’s incorporated well.

This feeling of walking a precipice between feral, out-of-control savagery and meaningful, structured violence permeates Planetoktonos. On the one hand, many of the riffs are curated carefully, and more infectious than you realise at first, whereas others burn harder, faster, and in a more maniacal manner. The vocals, however, always seem on the edge of mania. They are delivered with passion and a deranged explosive vigour that seems to push the music to greater heights of severity.

Planetoktonos is recommended for fans of hardcore and grindcore that want a solid album to explore and get to grips with.