Fetid Zombie/Cosmic Void Ritual: Manifestations of Sacrificial Macrocosms (2018)

I have not done a split review for a while.  I love splits but I do not come across them real frequently.  Even less often are those in which I am familiar with both groups.  I have covered Fetid Zombie several times in the past, and will very likely cover them many times in the future.  I love this band.  Cosmic Void Ritual is a band whose demo I covered a year or so ago.  This is a very short split as both bands contribute just one song.

Cosmic Void Ritual is first and their song titles (particularly this one) are shockingly longer than their band name.  The band's song mostly revolve around Lovecraftian horror and their song here, "Omnipresent Tetramorph Oracles (Coliseum for the Dead Astronaut V)" is no different.  The band continues to sound like old-school death metal from Finland with Demilich and Convulse being the primary points of reference.  The composition is fairly simple with just a few riffs in the song, mostly endlessly repeating.  There is no bottom end, the song consisting of just some rudimentary drums and the guitar riff, but it feels cavernous and dark.  We are still waiting on a full-length release from Cosmic Void Ritual.

Fetid Zombie checks in with "Graven Image" and this song is terrific.  It hits the right notes to sound like the kind of song Death or Morbid Angel would have put out on their earliest releases.  The riffs, vocals and even the wailing guitar solo all sound authentic.  Fetid Zombie does a terrific job of paying respect to their influences without sounding like utter copycats and that continues to be true here. 

As is typical of split reviews, it is time to pick which band won the split.  It is perhaps not shocking that that band is Fetid Zombie here.  They usually do win their splits.