From Norway with hate. Contorted hail from Bergen, Norway, and include three ex-Psykopath members, of which I do not have any clue of. 'Deities of Uncreation' is the second release after 2022's 'Valley of Giants' single. The bio reads that the guys are very inspired by Swedish death metal scene, but are making music in their own way and vision.

I hear a lot of US death metal stylings on this EP, too. The style Contorted are doing it, is dark; the atmospheres they managed to channel here are totally ominous and daunting. Make no mistake: There's no hints of black metal despite where these guys come from (the hometown of such giants as Borknagar, Burzum, Gorgoroth, Immortal and Taake for example). This wasn't created with HM-2 pedal, so no Stockholm syndrome alert need to be sounded.

Contorted do utilize tremolo riffing, though. There's also punchy palm-muted riffage abound. It is thick and oily in its substance, but not quite as oleaginous as something like Morbid Angel, Immolation or such conjurors of unearthly forces. There's quite a bit of dissonant notes by two guitarists, though, and also some non-distorted guitars to be heard. The tempos vary from slow-ish stomping to blasting within each of the songs, transitions flowing mainly very smoothly. The vocals are raspy, shouty growling, with some lower bellowing unleashed. This has both vibes from 1990s and 2000s.

The dense distorted guitars fit perfectly in the mix pounding bass guitar, bulky tom and kick drums, trebly cymbals and floating vocals. There's some reverb in the mix, giving this more potency and feel of ghoulishness. This was self-produced by the band, so it's a job done meticulously.

While the band follow their vision, I do not think that this is highly unique or anything like that, because it certainly is not. However, the band's way of alloying Swedish and US death metal styles together does carry some deviation from the more tried norms. With stylish cover art and ghastly introduction piece, this EP is a good foundation for the band to build their legacy.

Rating: 8 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
12/14/2023 10:33