This is the second album from US solo extreme metal band Kostnatění.
2023’s Úpal was a notable record, standing out from the crowd with its atypical approach to black metal. Now comes Přílišnost, and it’s a refined beast of uncommon extremity we find ourselves faced with.
Across 34 minutes Přílišnost unleashes violence and mayhem. Despite being shorter than its predecessor, this new album has three more tracks, indicating the shift in focus and sound of Kostnatění. To lazily quote the promo blurb – “The band’s signature “highbrow” progressive riffs, now played on a uniquely alt-tuned guitar, cleverly interweave with a mix of “lowbrow” metal genres and moody synthesizers to create the band’s heaviest, most compact and violent songs to date.”
Imagine an idiosyncratic mix of black metal, industrial, death metal, and punk. The music is technical, progressive, and avant-garde, while also ripe with punishing breakdowns and caveman riffs. Cover everything with an industrial anger, and you have a rough guide to the sound of Přílišnost. This description doesn’t really properly get you to the unusual place that the artist resides in, but it at least points in the right direction. Put differently, imagine an unholy mix of bands such as Arallu, Blut Aus Nord, Defeated Sanity, Godflesh, and Ὁπλίτης (Hoplites).
The songs are brief explorations of sonic terror and nightmare abrasion, lent depth through mood-rich substance and atmospheric sounds. The running time is made full use of, allowing the music to be harsh and dissonant, but also effectively portray feeling via twisting riffs, otherworldly synths, and warped leads. The Middle Eastern influences of the debut record can still be heard in places, whereas in others everything is buried in industrial drum ‘n’ bass, blackened death metal aggression, or pulsing avant-garde malevolence.
While a thread certainly remains between the Kostnatění of the past and the Kostnatění of the present, Přílišnost offers a different experience for the listener than what came before. It’s an album that’s dense and is sure to be difficult to penetrate for many, but if you have a taste for extreme metal with a multifaceted personality, then this is for you.
Very highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 