Artist: Pathogen
Title: Blasphemous Communion
Type: Album
Label: Dead Center Productions

It’s a lazy, well worn journalistic device, but sometimes albums “do exactly what they say on the tin”. This could well be the welcome message of the premium rate phoneline linking straight to the hell or underworld of your choice. Hailing from that most metal of nations…erm…The Philippines, Pathogen are sufficiently old school to make Will Hay look like a young thruster. Originally released on CD-R back in 2007, this re-release – via either a Russian or Ukrainian company dependant on the Dead Center or Wings of Destruction release, sees the truth that metal really is an international business. Who would have thought, back in the early 70’s, that the great-great-great-grand spawn of Black Sabbath would be releasing music from the Philippines, via Eastern Europe to the wider world ?

Geographical musings aside, Pathogen have a pleasingly different take on old school deathly metal. Unlike the main crop of bands retreading the Left Hand Path, these guys are ploughing another furrow, ignorant of the vectors of other trends. Bringing to mind an unholy collision of “Scream Bloody Gore” proto-death metal, “Morbid Visions” era Sepultura and the sickening, revolting slow grumble of Autopsy in one ultra-subterranean package. This album is so deeply underground that it wouldn’t surprise me if the band have to practice in mining gear. With a downright cavernous, echoey production and filthy, depraved attitude, Pathogen are everything that over-hyped bands like Coffins proclaim to be. Platter highlight, ‘Bestial Perversion’ highlights everything great about this release. The sickening, crawling pace of the introduction sounds like Autopsy being played at quarter speed, backwards under the waters of a particularly fetid swamp. The guitars whine mercilessly, while the full throated rumble of master-of-ceremonies, Willie Desamero brings the dread with aplomb.

Is this easy listening? Certainly not. It’s a well aged, honest piece of blasphemous hatred committed to tape and then excreted out into the world. This is as unpleasant and vile a release that I have heard for months, and a damn sight more authentic than the hordes of Scando-clones doing the rounds at the minute. Pathogen smell like death – long let them reek.

http://www.myspace.com/pathogenonline

Chris Davison

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