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‘Sup sluddites! As promised a couple of weeks back, we have for you a review of what is tentatively one of our favorite records of the year; tentative because who the hell knows what gems lurk in the remaining months of 2021.
During one of my regular sifts of the dregs of Bandcamp’s recent releases section in early April, my eyes immediately locked onto the slurry of vibrant colors exuding from the artwork of Famine, Putrid and Fucking Endless, the debut LP from London’s Atvm. A robot getting its dome sliced off, a gangrenous totem wincing as it appears to sink into a maroon substance, or the Master Hand-like mitts making peculiar gestures. It didn’t scream death metal at me, but once the twanging bassline protruded from “Picture of Decay” (the sample track available at the time) and then crumpled under the incursion of trem-flaying barbs, I knew this was one to circle back to. And wouldn’t you know it, the entirety of this 56-minute mammoth of an opus continues to enthrall me all of these months later.
You could generally typify Atvm as progressive death metal, but I often find “progressive” to be too broad of a catch-all descriptor to aptly articulate what you will experience. Their debut is outlandish and strays some of the well-trodden pathways of its death metal forebearers; however, it remains inextricably linked to its roots. Thrashy surges lambaste with primal energy. Salvos of tremolo picking spew acrid, atonal frequencies that fluster. Vocals excoriate like venom. Ripe melodies are abundant; tempo shifts are persistent. So many of these elements are familiar, yet Atvm manages to invigorate the death metal formula with funky excursions and an electrifying spirit. Often they fissure the momentum of their arrangements with sprawls across verdant instrumental tangents, be it jubilant, heady, or disquieting. Brutish are their metallic hammerings, but there exudes an intoxicating buoyancy that renders each composition a breeze. I have yet to suss out all qualities of this record that enrapture me, but each re-visit (and there have been many of them) has been a savory treat.
We likely mutilated what could have been a rather precise dissection of this album’s innards,—mostly due to nonsensical diatribes, as is tradition here—but we sincerely hope you enjoy the ramblings in this episode. This album gets top marks from the two of us and we couldn’t urge you enough to give it at least a few spins. As always, thank you so much for tuning in!
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You can snag a digital or physical (CD) copy of Famine, Putrid and Fucking Endless via Atvm’s Bandcamp page. You can follow them over on Facebook and Instagram to stay in the loop on new developments from their neck of the woods.
If you’d like to support us beyond listening to our podcast, you can do so by becoming a patron on our Patreon page where you can read all of the notes we typed in preparation for album reviews and gain early access to upcoming episodes before their official release. If Patreon isn’t your jam, we recently set up an FCU Venmo account (@From-Corners-Unknown) and a Ko-Fi account in case you want to support us via other channels.
Up next on the docket is the return of Derek (it’s been awhiiile) with an all-new EPs review episode. It will drop in two weeks. Take care until then!
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