UMUR
"Feast of Iniquity" is the 4th full-length studio album by US death metal act Pyrexia. The album was released through Unique Leader Records in October 2013. Pyrexia released their debut full-length studio album "Sermon of Mockery" as far back as 1993, but they´ve had a lengthy break in activities because most of the lineup teamed up with Trevor Peres (Obituary) in 2001 to form Catastrophic. "Feast of Iniquity" is the band´s second full-length studio album since they reformed Pyrexia.
Stylistically the music on "Feast of Iniquity" pretty much continues the brutal and technically well played death metal style that Pyrexia have played since day one. There are obvious nods toward Suffocation (both drummers who participate on the album have also played with Suffocation), but Pyrexia are slightly more focused on ultra heavy breakdowns and groove. Sometimes, like in "Panzer Tank Lobotomy" and "Born of a Jackal", they even incorporate a slight contemporary "core" influence in the vein of Chimaira. The tempo is varied throughout the album with both blasting, heavy breakdowns and mid paced brutal sections.
At 29:47 minutes "Feast of Iniquity" is a relatively short album, but it packs a ton of punch and with music this brutal a longer playing time might have been a trial. While "Feast of Iniquity" is a solid brutal technical death metal album featuring a powerful sound production and some very skillful playing, the songwriting is pretty standard for the genre. I´m not coming out of the listening experience thinking that particular tracks on the album stand out or that Pyrexia have an especially personal/distinct sound. If they ever improve on that parameter, they could elevate their music to a higher level. As it is now "Feast of Iniquity" is still an enjoyable and headbanger friendly death metal release and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.