Idolatry of the Unethical

Cerebral Effusion is probably one of my favorite brutal bands to come out of the scene recently, with their third album “Impulsive Psychopathic Acts” being one of my top 10 death metal albums of all time. They have a masterful way of writing engaging, wholly original and excessively brutal riffs while being able to construct a truly heinous, disgusting atmosphere in each song and album; a trait most “heavy” bands only hope and dream they could one day achieve…

“Idolatry of the Unethical” is a good example of a brutal band maturing and evolving in the right way: the song construction is more focused on climaxing to a final idea and developing themes throughout each song. Their previous album had this as well, but was done in a more unrestrained manner in terms of everything going full bore at all times. Where the Cerebral Effusion of 2010 was obsessed with relentlessly blasting you to mustard shit, this album has moments where the tempo backs off for a bit and the drums take a back seat in order for the parts to build intensity and crescendo. This shows they can improve on their take on their craft while making an album that stands apart from their previous effort, and more importantly shows them trying something new instead of rehashing the same ideas that worked for them in the past. While I do enjoy “Impulsive” a bit more than this one (at this point in time), I really like that this album was different than what they had previously done; it gives their discography more character and gives you a reason to listen to each album individually again and again.

All the essential elements of your typical death metal band are in place (croaking vocals, insane riffs, blasting, etc.) but are done in a way that shows these guys have a veteran command and deep passion for the genre, and that they want to advance it in the best ways possible. Honestly, there isn’t much more I want to say about this album because this is a piece of music that deserves to be in your collection already if you are a fan of brutal death metal: if it isn’t, then it should be! They are extremely talented at playing this type of music and most definitely have their own character, sound, and presence in a saturated world of impostors and try-hards.