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PESTILENCE
1988 - Mallevs Maleficarvm.
1989 - Consuming Impulse.
1991 - Testimony Of The Ancients.
1993 - Spheres.
more PESTILENCE.
way more Helter Skelter.

September 26, 1988 - 2023: 35 years of: Mallevs Maleficarvm.

Finally Europe is inside the maze of torment.

While DEATH, REPULSION and the Canadian SLAUGHTER had a lead on deathmetal, the Old Continent was now biting back. Holland's grimy PESTILENCE was now a contestant, in this sick brutal race.

Speedmetal rides on the left hand path as "Malleus Maleficarum / Anthropomorphia" blasts off. Hate and aggression at Mach IV speeds, the killings are real and the impact is imminent. The ravaging rage continues on "Parricide", "Extreme Unction" and the Eurometal flair of "Systematic Instruction".

The bass intros us into the chronic infection of "Bacterial Surgery", while the mosh decadence of "Chemo Therapy" is another bloody knuckle lesson in violence.

When rabid KREATOR fans fights off POSSESSED fans, the brawl turns into a smelly mush of PESTILENCE. From speedmetal to speedier speedmetal, the Mallevs Maleficarvm LP is not actual deathmetal, yet. Frontmen Martin Van Drunen's necromantical screams would rapidly tune down into the abyss.

This none-spherical mutation would soon hatch one of deathmetal's perfect explosion of skin-crawling brutality. The barbaric apex of viciousness: 1989's trendsetting Consvming Impvlse LP.

*
Commandments = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFdtB_N_4z0
Mallevs Maleficarvm = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP0Zxaa6v0g&list=OLAK5uy_nnBQ4RbJPy1wlev9dA-16JBKFSwtvStec
Interview in 1988
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcaSNEQQ5qA
Live in Holland in 1988
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkhK3zzXD2Q

December 25, 1989 - 2019: 30 years of: Consuming Impulse.

Ultra brutal from head-to-toe, this is one of deathmetal's rawest exhibition of pure blunt force !

1989's Consuming Impulse is part of a deadly wave of brutal-deathmetal monoliths that paved the way for the early 90s deathmetal-scene and beyond. Other sick classics includes: Severed Survival, Realm Of Chaos, Purity Dilution and the insalubrious putrefying artwork of CARCASS's Symphonies Of Sickness.

When thrashmetal fails, look no further then deathmetal for a dose of dazzling brutality !

After 1988's aggressive speedmetal offering Malleus Maleficarum LP, Holland's best strikes again with one of deathmetal most genre-defining record. Brutal riffs, brutal drums and one of the scene's most recognizable set of vocal growls in Martin Van Drunen.

The onslaught kick's in with "Dehydrated" were body-parts fly-off in a mosh-pit frenzy ..."water" is your last word, die ! The body-count continues on "The Process Of Suffocation". The sickening stench reeks on another level on "The Trauma" where speed and brutality collides head first. Another steam-roller is "Deify Thy Master", a track that puts the emphasis on Van Drunen's unique trendsetting vokills. Last cut, the pounding laid-back intro of "Reduced To Ashes" sets the pace for Armageddon, a full bestial 3:35sec of aural desecration.

On a musical-scale, a new level is unlocked on the melodic-interlude "Proliferous Souls", a taste of what would become the norm on their 1991 masterpiece Testimony Of The Ancients and 1993's sophisticated Spheres.

While RAZOR has "Evil Invaders" and SLAYER has "Altar Of Sacrifice", PESTILENCE has "Out Of The Body" ...the band's and one of deathmetal's most legendary tracks. The driving opening-riff sweeps everything on sight and let's the drum roll over the tombstones like a Tazmanian-devil. This out of body experience reaches beyond metallic proportions as the song describes inner cells taking control of one's mind. Repulsive and effective !

30 years later, Consuming Impulse still remains one of these albums featured on every deathmetal-Charts. One of the sickest and most vicious ever released. All brutal, all in your face, all deathmetal ...except for the tame inexcusable cheesy-artwork, courtesy of Roadrunner Records. Sadly this would also be the last association with singer Van Drunen, has he would soon after join dark doom-deathmetal Dutch unit ASPHYX ...diametrically this would spear PESTILENCE 2.0, a new deathmetal venture that would continue and explore more musical horizons.

*
Out Of The Body = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4zxrYUOXLo
Consuming Impulse = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj5Ajt3r5xA&list=PL46964DA8FBF7603A
Interview in 1990
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMp97zFn_tM
Live in Oakland in 1990
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7kW1ZNHBsw

September 6, 1991 - 2021: 30 years of: Testimony Of The Ancients.

Deathmetal's godly supreme testimony.

Suave, sick and sophisticated to the highest level, this is the perfect mix, this is the perfect deathmetal record. 1991, again, the Year Zero that gave us all of the immortal classicks this new breed had to offer: Human, From Beyond, Clandestine, Effigy Of The Forgotten, Blessed Are The Sick and the bloody British Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious.

After 1989's maniacal Consuming Impulse LP, the onslaught would take a turn on the left hand path. Growler Martin Van Drunen is out into ASPHYX, as guitarist Patrick Mameli now steps in as new frontmen. From out of all places, The Netherlands, this unit in beautiful brutality would now bring forth: deathmetal's ultimate progression.

Where no life dwells from "The Secrecies Of Horror", a fast opener with a maelstrom breakdown mid-part. The out of body destruction continues on "Lost Souls" along the masterful metal of the incisive "Prophetic Revelations". Note that all songs are intertwined by an mini soundtrack-interlude. A clever story-telling adventure that elevates Testimony Of The Ancients on top of the creative food-chain.

The title-track showcases the superior drumming of Marco Foddis, while "Presence Of The Dead" is another monstrous display of higher-quality deathmetal. More metallic melodies clashes on the eerie "Land Of Tears", were the Mameli + Uterwijk lead trade-off is reminiscent of the untouchable Eurometal Painkiller CD. More heavenly guitar-unison wars explode on the closing muscle masterpiece "Stigmatized".

When thrashmetal fails in the brutal-department, look no further than deathmetal. When deathmetal lacks melody and finesse, look no further than Testimony Of The Ancients. The pinnacle in the genre, brutal metal with darken vibes and unparalleled musicianship: Testimony Of The Ancients is deathmetal's finest body of work.

Recorded at the deathmetal mecca AKA Tampa's Morrisound Studios with a very busy Scott Burns, the added keyboard atmospheres of Ken Smith are a welcomed bonus. On bass Floridian local Tony Choy of ATHEIST and CYNIC, made sure the low-ends were on top of the mix.

This über classic deathmetal human waste stench would soon evaporate, clean up and expend to come back in another in-human form: 1993's extreme-metal fusion turning-point Spheres CD.

*
Land Of Tears = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hejOszaWZMQ
Testimony Of The Ancients = full CD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEpIktvzupw&list=OLAK5uy_mFQWh-p0ev4Q5xJRH5syKPs86eiuDlU5I
Interview in 1991
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHbw_0GsWfw
Live in London in 1991
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=einl1yd1Gjs
some guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX8GJjS7rw0

May 3, 1993 - 2023: 30 years of: Spheres.

Twisted into form.

In search of the land of tears, through the process of suffocation, these fine strapping young lads crafted a new brutal-metal doctrine. When prog-deathmetal becomes a new avenue in the left hand path, PESTILENCE spears the challenge head-on.

Hyperactive jabs attack on the opening "Mind Reflections". Frenetic broken breakdown and rolling double-bassdrums with relentlessness. Not a single per say, but the most comfort-zone from this fiesta of riffs. Off-set beats and bass-plucking empowers "Multiple Beings", while the dream-sequence mood of "Personal Energy" is a serious massacre from beyond.

Still sickening, the title-track "Spheres" rages with incorporated fusion riff-patterns and synth-guitars outro. The thrash terror of "Soul Search" and "The Level Of Perception" slashes in every way and cleverly melts down into a space ad-lib. 90s-technology is put to the test with the "Aurian Eyes" and "Voices From Within" interludes.

A disorderly experiment.

Traditions were already largely put aside on 1991's majestic Testimony Of The Ancients CD, and now this exponential evolution in the extremes hatched a new branch of aural-studies. Not deathmetal: future aggro jazz-metal. The millennium's new bands, dwelling deep into prog and geekness owe a massive salute to these fine Dutchmen.

Sadly, the 1993 scene was already melting under the saturated market and PESTILENCE were eons ahead with this out-of-the-box offering. Following lukewarm reception, they would quietly split and come-back some fifteen years later, in a very different metal-landscape, with 2009's impulsive consuming of the Resurrection Macabre CD.

*
Mind Reflections = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvq1yygSf2M
Spheres = full CD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToL9FFRMja4&list=PLlTSqF66IqjWtPna59l_-x3tqktooajcX
Interview in 1993
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rNO4wyJaT0
Live in Austria in 1993
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urUX4zrrK6g
some band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fvsAwzsUzA

more PESTILENCE:

At Death's Door
&

ASPHYX
&

Death-Metal 1988-92
&

Death-Metal EU 1991