Often I find that picking promo at random is the path to my most surprising finds. The last couple of years saw me picking up returning band after returning band, which over time made me forget the trials and joys of the blind grab—once my primary modus operandi. I missed it dearly these last few months. It is this strange sense of nostalgia that ultimately brought me to Noxis, a young Ohioan death metal quartet with whom I have no experience and for whom I have no preconceptions. It’s a beautiful feeling, coming into a new piece of media as an empty vessel. Now the only question remaining is can Noxis fill me with their debut Violence Inherent in the System?
If Noxis’ noxious and positively groinkled bass tone alone is any indication, the answer is an ecstatic cry of affirmation. Meaty feels like a shallow term for the kind of thick, muscled death metal shoving itself into my pores with all of the ceremony of a jackhammer. Clear inspirations from earlier Immolation, Incantation, and early Cryptopsy make themselves known right away (“Skullcrushing Defilement,” “Replicant Prominence,” “Violence Inherent in the System”), with a more subtle undercurrent of Afterbirth‘s more adventurous, progressive deviations from the norm rising to froth above a blunderbuss of unstoppable riffs and brutal rhythms (“Tense and Forlorn”). Yet, something more bespoke roils in Noxis’ curdled compositions that speaks not only to their fearlessness as songwriters, but also to something kinkier still (“Horns Echo Over Chorazim,” bonus track “Surfin’ Blood Futile”).
Violence Inherent In The System by Noxis
At forty-nine minutes of skull-bashing, brain-wrinkling, ugly1 death metal, you’d think Violence Inherent in the System overstays its welcome all too quickly; nothing could be further from the truth. This record rips time away from me like a fugue state. Nevertheless, an improbable number of its riffs and expertly stitched segments lodge themselves in my memory bank. Opening duo “Skullcrushing Defilement” and “Blasphemous Mausoleum for the Wicked” assault every synapse with a cavalcade of stellar grooves, pummeling riffs, and stealthily syncopated measures which together amount to something much greater than the sum of their parts. “Path of Visceral Fears” then allures with a sultry, drunken swagger and Incantationated themes against a deathgrinded beat. Without warning, I’m thrashing my body around like a freshly caught tuna. Then, just when I think I’ve figured Noxis out, that’s when they bring out the big brain moves. Strangeness abounds in an inspired all-out battle royale between a flute, a clarinet, a trumpet, and what I suspect but cannot confirm is a bassoon on SotY contender “Horn Echo Over Chorazim.” Dueling solos between these instruments fly in like bats out of hell after a massive windfall of creative, filthy riffs, and all of them sound like they were played by old-school death metal guitarists. Absolute insanity.
As memorable and striking as so much of Violence Inherent in the System is, Noxis’ brilliant album organization represents the most important aspect of the record’s success, and the one area that could use some attention. Shuffling blistering speed (“Torpid Consumption,” “Violence Inherent in the System”) with mid-paced stomps (“Blasphemous Mausoleum for the Wicked,” “Tense and Forlorn”), and slimy, doom-tinged grinds (“Replicant Prominence,” “Emanations of the Sick”) guarantees an exciting and dynamic experience from beginning to end, with no low lights to speak of. On the other hand, most songs that extend past five-and-a-half minutes could stand a thirty-second trimming. It’s not that they test my patience at any juncture. Rather, tightening them just that much more with small edits and cuts would only further enhance the whole’s overall impact. As a final nitpick, the production, while sporting a near-perfect snare and bass tone, does not suit the woodwind and horn instruments in “Horns Echo Over Chorazim” well. They sit in a strange sonic space that feels at once too far back, too far forward, and not of the same origin as the other instruments—a paradox that I can’t explain scientifically—creating an initially jarring sensation that almost derails what is incontrovertibly a fabulous piece of death metal novelty.
Noxis’ caught a bit of lightning in a bottle with Violence Inherent in the System. Novel, smart, memorable, and absolutely engorged with piss, vinegar, and virility, Violence Inherent in the System continues to wow me with each new spin. I was not expecting something of this quality from a debut by a band I picked out blindly, but here we are. If you don’t get your grubby little filth mits on this, you’re missing out. Big time.
Rating: Great!
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Rotted Life Records
Website: facebook.com/Noxisdeathmetal | noxisdeathmetal.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: June 28th, 2024
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