Genre: Death metal
Origin: France
Released: 2010
Website: Atrophy
Label: Great Dane Records
Uploaded: 18.07.10

I’ve really tried to like Atrophy. I don’t receive even close to enough death metal promos, so when I receive one I really want to like it. But I just can’t seem to get into Lexical occultation 1,618. It’s the band’s second album, originally self-released in 2009, and I suppose that Great Dane Records heard some potential since they decided to re-release it. Unfortunately I don’t…
All hope is not lost, it’s not like Atrophy just outright suck, but it’s certainly not my cup of tea. As soon as it starts with a long spoken session in Lexical occultation… I feel some bad mojo. Spoken vocals are just too damn cheesy, I can’t for the life of me understand why bands keep utilizing it. And here it pops up several times, and every time I get a bad sensation coursing through my body. Remaining within the subject of the same previously mentioned track, this might still be one of the better ones along with Perceptions (if you overlook the metalcore-ish breakdown and spoken vocals, that is). The band seem to have focused a lot on unorthodox song structures and some minor jazzy riffs and tempo changes, all to spruce things up I imagine. And it’s a solid effort, but they don’t possess enough charisma and identity for me to really take it to heart.
Soon… is a very thrashy bit, flirting heavily with the old school agenda of thrash riffing, but also a more old school approach to death metal. Escape to nonexistent has a more modern and brutal agenda, at times flirting with some grindcore (and I do dig the harsh high-pitched screams thrown in the mix). Both tracks, along with a couple of others, stands out from Atrophy’s general technical and semi-unorthodox approach to death metal. But it’s not really extremely technical, and it’s not very brutal, it doesn’t feel typically old school, it’s not overly melodic… It just is, and that’s where they falter. There’s no real thrill, no hooks, nothing in particular that sucks the listener in. It’s just death metal, but without any truly exciting bits.

Tracklist:
01. Prelude to occultation
02. Lexical occultation…
03. And suddenly springs up
04. Symbol matching
05. The ancient lore
06. Soon…
07. Final dimension
08. Perceptions
09. Escape to nonexistent
10. Randomized lives