DESECRATION - Cemetery Sickness (DIGIPAK CD)

From the opening moments of the title track, the album explodes into a whirlwind of razor-sharp riffing and relentless blast beats. The production feels weightier than previous efforts, giving the guitars a thick, cutting tone while allowing the drumming to maintain its crushing precision. Tracks like Coffin Smasher and Cabletie Castrator highlight the band’s ability to blend sheer aggression with infectious, headbang-worthy grooves, shifting seamlessly between frantic speed and pummeling mid-tempo sections. The vocals are as guttural and menacing as ever, delivering morbid lyrical themes with an undeniable force that complements the music’s sheer savagery.

Despite its full-throttle approach, Cemetery Sickness doesn’t just rely on speed—there’s a calculated sense of songwriting here that keeps the intensity from becoming monotonous. Moments like Cunt Full of Maggots and Mortuary Debauchery incorporate thick, chugging riffs that give the record a dynamic edge, allowing the relentless blast beats to hit even harder when they return. There’s also an underlying thrash influence woven throughout, adding a sharpened edge to the overall attack while maintaining the thick, gruesome atmosphere that Desecration thrive in.

While the album doesn’t stray too far from the band’s established sound, it perfects their approach with refined execution and an ever-present sense of ferocity. For fans of no-frills, bludgeoning death metal that delivers nothing but sheer brutality, Cemetery Sickness stands as a worthy addition to Desecration’s catalog, proving that sometimes, the most effective approach is to simply hit harder than ever before.