Antagonism – Digging Past Sounds (2012)

Delivering 11 tracks of hard-chugging Death Metal, today we have Italy’s Antagonism and their debut full-length “Digging Past Sounds”. In this release, the band uses traditional Death Metal structures with a few hints of more modern grooves thrown into the mix. While release drags a bit after a while, the songs presented here are a nice tribute to some of the crushing DM tracks we loved from the 90’s.

“Skinhunter Kill(ing)” delivers a very cool Dissmember-like opener and provides high hopes for this already entertaining release. The riffing is relentless and the drumming is superb, the growls are very typical and nicely fit into the vibe. “Sick AIDS” keeps things rolling with some more chugging riffs and very well crafted drum patterns, but “No More” is a song that nicely breaks the monotony with some nice tempo changes and even tighter drumming.

As the album progresses, songs like “Politicizzed”, “The Piggest Soulds”, and “Poisoned Rats” keeps the vibe going, but it also feels a bit stale and begins to drag. Having the ability to deliver a full DM album without getting dull and old is something that only veteran bands can do, and shows the weaknesses behind Antagonism. Not saying that this is a bad release, we are just pointing out that it drags a bit nearing track eight or so.

The weird closing track “Akustic Rebellion” was actually one of the most interesting songs in this release since they start off by breaking completely away from the mold and they suddenly progress into some well-crafted DM sections. With a closer like this, we believe that there is still some hope left for this band to break the mold in the future and deliver more interesting and engaging tracks. If you are in the market for some promising DM from Italy, be sure to get this release.

Release: April 27th, 2012

Country: Italy