This is the debut album from US death metal band Kontusion.
Kontusion contain current and ex-members of Repulsion, Iron Reagan, Magrudergrind, and Mammoth Grinder, and on Insatiable Lust for Death they have provided us with 26 minutes of ugly death metal punishment.
Kontusion’s style is old, rotten, and cavernous. Think bands like Ascended Dead, Autopsy, Incantation, and Undergang. Throw in a crust punk d-beat influence, (along with a couple of band references like Extreme Noise Terror and Napalm Death), and a touch of war metal, and you have an indecent starting point for Insatiable Lust for Death. Foul, malignant, nasty death metal.
The songs are short and brutal. Only two breach the three-minute mark, delivering brief bursts of underground ferocity and dark, aggressive evil. Chaos and devastation abound across the album, with relentless drums, spiked riffs, and harshly rough growls. There are some unhinged solos here too.
Surprisingly, there is melody. It’s dark, tense, and filled with horror, but it’s there and it’s used well. This, combined with the strong selection of riffs that the band have and the effective structuring and flow of the music, allows for songs that may be nightmarish and brutal, but that have more impact and lasting appeal then many ostensibly similar bands manage to achieve with their output. Amidst the mayhem Kontusion occasionally unleash toxic atmospheric elements, purely designed to increase the feelings of terror that the music evokes. On the rare occasions they are deployed, these work very well in augmenting the barbaric nature of the music.
Insatiable Lust for Death is an above average slab of abominable aggression. Kontusion’s debut album is very enjoyable, assuming you like being beaten, kicked, and crushed ten times in under 30 minutes.
Very highly recommended. It also pairs nicely with bands such as Antichrist Siege Machine, Archgoat, Blood Monolith, Impetuous Ritual, Of Feather and Bone, Pissgrave, Triumvir Foul, and Vermin Womb, just so you know.
Wonderbox Metal 