If you’ve missed out on what Danish death metal trio Deiquisitor have consistently built within the span of this last decade or so, your point of entry is an entirely cursory choice. That isn’t to suggest that all of their records are too similar but that they’ve developed a notable signature that leaves a distinct mark upon all it touches. The superficial details count and style indication is vital for this sort of music conveying its cruel and otherworldly atmosphere with impressive feats of speed and brutality but it’ll be the time spent in the trenches, hitting the repeat button for hours and immersing in the deprivation tank it constructs that’ll reveal the greater psychic threat each record presents. ‘Humanoid’ is short but not mercifully so, a blast furnace of hypnotic old school brutal death metal style which insists upon an urgently fed textural swarm of inhumane acts within a riff-obssessed format.

That is to say that Deiquisitor are very much in keeping with the greater history of early-to-mid 90’s brutality in their region such as Exmortem‘s classic ‘Labyrinths of Horror’ and certain works by Panzerchrist but it’d be more accurate to compare their sound to that of albums like Drawn and Quartered‘s ‘Extermination Revelry’ and Dead Congregation‘s ‘Graves of the Archangels’ where brutality and swarms of fleet-fingered chord modulation makes for an eerily shifting angular take on an (early) Deeds of Flesh-esque vacuum of riff and roar. Some of what I’d suggest here should feel redundant if you’ve a strong memory as I’ve given some similar description for their second (‘Downfall of the Apostates‘, 2018) and third (‘Towards Our Impending Doom‘, 2019) full-lengths where an emphasis on Immolation influenced movements amidst more brutal, lateral strokes makes these brilliant and involved death metal pieces that meld into one fluid stretch of appreciable horror. There is the sense that attack overtakes all other elements when it comes time to sling these songs out in studio, and this murderous, severely hammered atmosphere lends itself well to takes of Sumerian extraterrestrial conspiracy and occult scientific wonders. You can’t step away from a Deiquisitor record not taking their performances seriously, they’re just dead-on, straight faced brutality in motion.

This is death metal so, much of the success of any release in this style depends upon the motivating force of the guitarist. In this case guitarist TFJ, who’d cut his teeth (along with drummer HBC) in black metal band Blodfest for several years before shifting focus to this project, carries with him a uniquely voiced riff style that may be chug heavy but always for the sake of a complete musical phrase and its relatively set movements within each piece, this is essentially where the comparison to early Exmortem comes in not only for the early 90’s United States death metal influences made brutal but for the elaborately strangled voice that arises from this percussive, chord-twisting approach. It is one shade darker than Chaotian and one step less brutal than Centurian but still fits well enough in each realm of death. ‘Humanoid’ stands out as some kind of progress in their own skin as riffs present more patient grooves and less reliance upon purely blasted background muse. Production is broad, roomy but centered around the drum kit allowing the impressive percussive nature of Deiquisitor‘s performances to naturally speak to harder-edged brutal death metal fans.

I’ve been on board with this band since the release of ‘Dawn of the Apostates’ and every session remains redeeming regardless of the release. If I had to compare ‘Humanoid’ to their past works, it is especially close to the sword clashing timbre of ‘Towards Our Impending Doom’ in terms of production sound and intensity, leaving behind some slower ideas for the sake of this ~26 minute record being a wall of crushing force. At this point it makes sense to devote a few words in admiration for artist MFJorg who has contributed an incredible aesthetic to Deiquisitor‘s works for some time now. Past works have been remarkably stylized rendering of horrific realities, elaborately detailed depictions of apocalyptic events and brutal possession that now include this painting of an Annunaki crucifying a human. There is a natural human hand applied to science fiction artwork here that really sets the right tone for the brutality of ‘Humanoid’. Again, these guys are still on a roll and maintaining plenty of interest within this appreciably extreme yet distinct death metal sound. A high recommendation.

Info:
ARTIST:	DEIQUISITOR
TITLE:	Humanoid
TYPE:	EP
LABEL(S):	Dark Descent Records [CD], Extremely Rotten Productions [LP, CS], Night Shroud Records [LP]
RELEASE DATE:	February 5th, 2021
BUY & LISTEN:	Bandcamp
GENRE(S):	Death Metal, Brutal Death Metal

---