FULGORA – Stratagem

The progressive US death metal act named Fulgora, which consists of members from Pig Destroyer and Misery Index among others, performs highly intense and insane music that blew me away the first few times that I spun this disc. Heck, it still blows me away even though I must have listened to it 25 times by now. Yeah, it is that good and interesting! "Stratagem" is basically a compilation consisting of four songs off two different 7" vinyl releases as well as three hard-hitting exclusive assaults that will tear you a new asshole.

Musically speaking, Fulgora has conjured up an extremely interesting take on death metal mixed with a lot of grindcore elements as well as a few hardcore traits that make it all the more dynamic and diverse to listen to. The seven songs that constitute "Stratagem" are all cleverly written and challenging to absorb. While many of the riffs are catchy, the arrangements and changes within the songs require patience and focus on the part of the listener. Needless to say, the musicianship is excellent all around, the production is punchy, and the vocals courtesy of B. L. LaMew are forceful and convincing. I love the moody and minimalistic artwork and packaging as well.

Even though "Stratagem" only contains 20 minutes of music, this brutal EP is a fucking gem and I keep returning to it over and over again. Personally, I think that it is way more memorable than the majority of death/grindcore releases out there. If you didn’t pick this up last year when it was released, do so now or forever be a dick!

http://www.thehousecorerecords.com/