Torment Your Flesh and Explore the Limits of Experience

"Torment Your Flesh and Explore the Limits of Experience" is the second album by old school death metal band Cenobite from St. Petersburg. When the magic words "old school" are uttered, most often a certain source of inspiration/influence is implied – so let's define it. Although the opening riff of the first "Filthy Glory" with its vivacious tremolo picking fills the air with a pretty strong early Dismember and Entombed vibe, Cenobite are not adherents of the Swedish school of death metal at all. A comparison with Autopsy would be much more accurate: "Torment Your Flesh..." is an almost constant alternation of doomed death metal sections and episodes which are sustained in a mid-tempo groove. Perhaps Asphyx can also be used for comparison, but to a much lesser extent.

The first passages of "Torment Your Flesh..." are not very indicative in the sense that the album proceeds along a descending line: the first two songs are more or less vital and dynamic, but subsequently the music becomes darker. And more hopeless. Cenobite started with an acceptance speech and ended with a funeral speech, something like that. The final "Keys of Logic" – the longest song on the album – turned out to be the obscurest, filled with some sick atmosphere. At the same time, it is not dragged on at all, while this is often a problem of final songs, especially not fast ones. Well, Cenobite can boast of the thoughtfulness and structuralization of their compositions.

They are definitely not fans of high speeds, they pick up pace sometimes, but never burst into a blast beat, they mostly prefer a moderately fast groovy pace. The band is characterized by frequent changes of tempo as well, but not abrupt ones. Perhaps "moderation" is their middle name, actually, sudden and quick movements are not for them.

Compared to their debut album "Dark Dimension" (2020), the manner of constructing compositions has remained virtually unchanged: Cenobite still vary tremolo picking with downstroke picking, the best example in this regard is the eighth "Chains and Hooks". The downstroke is often palm muted, which, as we all understand, works well for the groove (check "Tomb").

In turn, the melodic component of the music went up a little. "Torment Your Flesh..." sounds very attractive and baleful at the same time: the rough vocals and tough rhythm fit well with the melodies. By the way, the vocals on the new album are done much better than on "Dark Dimension", now they are not just a grating harsh voice, they emphasize the desperation that the riffs portray (note "Infecting Mauler"). And, by the way, now the vocals sound even more like Chris Reifert.

Definitely, solo melodies and tremolo picking lead lines are Cenobite's strong suit, which is again convincingly demonstrated by the first two pieces. It's a pity that as the album progresses, less attention is paid to such adornments, instead, preference is given to some incomprehensible effects, as happens, for example, in the second half of the fifth "Infecting Mauler", where instead of very deformed vocals or some effect, a solo suggests itself.

Maybe the sixth "Tomb" reveals why this is happening: although their songs are built on rather rhythmic than solo melodies, Cenobite are trapped by their own moderation and restraint. Definitely, "Tomb" would have won much more, and most likely would have become a "hit", if Cenobite had given free rein to their emotions and passions. This is again baleful doomed death metal, at first thrilling with a funeral march groove and then pressing with slowed down solemnity in the spirit of Morbid Angel – this would be the right place for piercing melodies. Yes, in the second half of the song we get a sombre solo and an equally sombre tremolo, but without emotional outburst, you know.

While the riffing doesn't give rise to unfavourable criticism: all the riffs are well-matched to each other, in this regard, it is worth highlighting the ninth "Festering Mutilation" – it was a smart tactical move to put a piece with such interesting riffs in the penultimate position. And it seems that Cenobite have become stricter about stylistic borrowings. Let's remember the fourth "Martyrdom" on "Dark Dimension" – it stood out from the rest of the pieces, but not for the better: its rhythm part was in the vein of My Dying Bride, when they began to move away from death metal, or something like that. There are no such tricks on "Torment Your Flesh...". If only "Master of Torment" (again the fourth on the album) stands out from the whole album: a slight dissonance appears in the second riff, so this song turns out to be a mixture of old school and modern attitudes. This is the only experiment on the album, so to speak.

What has changed much more noticeably is the production. Again, "Dark Dimension" seemed to be in the spirit of Swedish death metal, but the reason for this illusion lies precisely in the production. That album's sound was something between Dismember and Autopsy, but now there are only Autopsy left. Well, almost. The production on "Torment Your Flesh..." is intelligible and distinct, and most importantly, rich and thick. "Dark Dimension" was still drier.

Bass still plays an important role in the intention to pound the listener flat, but it was deprived of dictatorial powers: it was pushed into the background in the mix, and in fact, Cenobite gained more guitar-based music thanks to this change. Bass is still the same glum and clangorous, but now its sound is more roundish, without sharp angles, the rumbling of bass clearly appears mainly in the emotional song prologues ("Sores", "Chains and Hooks"), as well as during long-sounding chords with which, by the way, it is well matched ("Infecting Mauler", "Doctrine of Purgation", "Keys of Logic").

Summary. You won't find anything new on "Torment Your Flesh and Explore the Limits of Experience", but it is a very competent and beautiful piece of work. It may lack emotionality, but this will not be a serious loss for you.

The Metal Observer