Ossuarium: Living Tomb (2019)

Finally.  This is the first new release from this year.  And thus we have the first contender for Album of the Year.  It is certainly a contender for Debut Album of the Year.  Ossuarium are a death metal band from the fertile metal breeding ground of Portland, Oregon.  Death metal is a little rare for the area, but there have been a ton of great black metal bands from there recently (one is coming up soon).

Ossuarium's sound is primarily a mix of occult death metal bands like Incantation with more death/doom-oriented groups like Autopsy and Asphyx with a little bit of Immolation thrown in for good measure.  The band's sound features mostly sludgy and dark with a kind of creeping malevolence that reminds me of some of the less-cosmic tales of horror by Lovecraft.  It is more the soundtrack for "The Colour Out of Space" or "The Rats in the Walls" for instance.  Many of the songs plod along fairly slowly, but will tend to lurch and propel forward at times with a sudden fast riff or solo.  Even when the band does change into more of a melodic section, there is still a general sense of unease and forboding that everything will still come crashing back down again.

The production helps with the general feel of the album.  It is a very raw and swampy sound overall.  There is nothing really bright here, even in the more melodic moments.  The vocals are also given kind of an echo effect that further emphasizes the doom and gloom of the sound. 

The standout track, among many great songs, is probably "Writhing in Emptiness", which is shockingly the most upbeat track on the album.  Meaning that it will just pummel the listener with fast, heavy death metal riffs that sound more like the early days of the Swedish scene.  Think Entombed.  It does break briefly for a more melodic section with some surprisingly pretty melodies, before diving back into the depths of the tomb-like sound the band has built.

This release by Ossuarium is the first great album of 2019 and the first contender for Album of the Year.  This is definitely for those that like their death metal grimy and decayed.