Inferna Kabbalah

The Greek death metallers Ectoplasma have been around for about a decade now, coming in clutch at the top of 2022 with their fourth full-length. The last record White-Eyed Trance was what sold me on the band, and the latest Inferna Kabbalah delivers on a solid front, too. Following a similar format of lengthier songs, this packs in a lot of different tactics into a manageable package.

Naturally, the deeper you go into a band’s career, they tend to tighten up (usually). No exceptions here, as the vocal snarls now come through harder than ever, as well as the riff work having a refined sound. There’s still a bit of an echo factor here, exaggerated by the drums. At times, I do think it comes off a bit strong, especially with some of the growls seeming kind of rough, but nothing takes away from the steady musicianship itself.

Most importantly, Inferna Kabbalah doesn’t strip away any of the rotting elements from the band’s foundation. This is focused on choppy rhythms under filth and fury, displayed wonderfully in "Gruesome Sacred Orgasms". That bassy intro adds so much flavor before breaking into a solid groove. The title track certainly delivers on this front as well, and there’s no shortage of suspense and intensity. Opener "God Is Dead, Satan Lives" brings this on early, letting out layers of occult and horror themed goodness.

While Ectoplasma’s latest outing was somewhat a grower and took some time for me to appreciate, I do find this to be a solid follow-up to what got me into them. Keeping things brief certainly helped things out. The deeper you get into the record, the more apparent the hooks become.

Originally written for Metalegion Magazine