Woe, all the rot and rust of the world! But when looking at those bright sides of it all, these things have also provided suitable elements for metal music. Pathogen, who hail from San Pablo, Philippines, have utilized these nasty elements in their music for over ten years. Death metal with substantial thrash metal part is their craft, and 'Lust of Evil' is one of their two demos put out in 2011.

The version reviewed here is the reissue on CD courtesy of Polish label Old Temple. The original tape edition was released by Malaysian Afterlife Productions, and these two version differ from each other, especially tracklisting-wise. The booklet looks fine with very much warped b/w artwork and printed lyrics. Solid work from the label, surely.

This reissue features songs from two demos: 2011's 'Lust of Evil' (tracks 1-3) and 2012's 'Gryphon' (tracks 4-6). Pathogen's four own songs contain sawing guitars, pounding rhythm section and diseased lungs vocals. The songs are intense and riff-filled slices, harking back to the 1980s. That era's death metal alloyed with thrashing tendencies, the music here cannot be called as original. Pathogen have similar sound to old Autopsy, especially reminding of legendary debut album from 1989, 'Severed Survival'. Possessed can be named as another influence, as well as some Swedish counterparts during that era. This smells like old corpses; truly post-mortem reek oozing from this. The riffs have that horror/insanity/offending atmosphere, and it is easy to draw to horror movie soundtracks, too. There are also crust-like inklings happening in Pathogen. Generally, the songs are well enough put together, containing several parts and they do not fall apart. However, they cannot touch those classic songs of the ilk, but that does not mean Pathogen do not deliver.

The riffs are sharp, sawing, hammering or they deliver those malignant figures. Guffawing guitar solos are insane for sure, rather similar to Slayer's. The bass guitar pounds and clanks with metallic tone. The drumming varies from blast beats to D-beats and from thrashing to mid-paced headbang paces. Sometimes the vocals are echoing, like sung in a drizzly crypt. This fits with the lyrics about invocating evil spirits, that happens on the first three songs. Also the other instruments have reverb on these recordings. On 'Gryphon' tracks, the sound is tighter and with lesser echo. 'Gryphon' songs' lyrical themes are psychological war and perversion.

First cover song, from Malaysian death/thrashers Brain Dead, 'Rites of the Tyrant', begins with ominous bass line and slow-ish pace. Doomy vibe is forced out by faster movements during the songs. Asphyx is one band this song definitely reminds me about. The second cover 'Another Destructive Century' comes from hardcore band Intoxication Of Violence. Yeah, back in the 1980s extreme metal music was very much inspired by hardcore punk, and you can hear the links between this song and Pathogen's own material.

All in all, the CD reissue of 'Lust of Evil' is very adequate piece of old school death/thrash metal madness. It worked as an introductory to this band, and I'm happy it did that. It only costs 5 Euros at Old Temple webshop, so I cannot but recommend this EP for those who want it the old way, the nasty, dirty way.

Rating: 7+ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
08/28/2013 21:53