Obsessed with gore, cannibalism, and the knowledge of anatomy, Japanese death/doom metal outfit Anatomia bring to us their highly anticipated fourth album “Corporeal Torment” out on May 20th via Me Saco Un Ojo Records. The band is fronted by Jun Tonosaki (vocals, guitars and, bass) and Takashi Tanaka (drums, vocals), who present their bleak conception of cavernous death and doom metal. The follow-up album to “Cranial Obsession” features four long tracks that span over forty minutes. The song reeks of the cadaverous stench of death drawing the listener into a suffocating atmosphere of miasma.

The grisly album cover once again redefines the visual art of the band, the Japanese duo has been slowly exploring in-depth the anatomy of cavernous doom metal. Despite having some similarities with their countrymen Coffins, Anatomia’s riff structure consists of massive guitar chugging bolstered by plodding drums. The songs mostly lean towards slow and mid-tempo, the duo of Anatomia have encapsulated the songs with sluggish momentum.

The opening moments of the first track “Dismemberment” emphasize the macabre atmosphere of dreary ambiance, then suddenly it veers into a fast-paced section of blast beats. The vocals range from low guttural growls to deep grunts taking the classic methods of the sub genre with a primitive approach. Jun Tonosaki provides many blood-soaked riffs, creating a palpable miasma of darkness. There are many slow tempos that perfectly fit with the band’s musical atmosphere whilst the riffs are imbued to create a sense of horror. Anatomia adds a minimal amount of keyboards, cryptically used in the song passages. 

Spawning from the putrid piles of rotten flesh, the duo has ostensibly combined some notable crushing riffs. “Slime of Putrescence” is filled with gore-soaked vocals. The track begins with slow rotten riffs followed by subterranean grunts, the drums heavily plodding across the slow mid-tempo section. This is to say that the songs were arranged to slither towards many unsettling moments, while at the same time the guitars show the ability to switch to groove. “Corporeal Torment” delves into the abhorrent tonality of slow death metal although the duo hasn’t really changed its notion and has continued with the musical articulation showcasing some experimental touches. 

The four tracks feel sluggish and they are built with slow phlegmatic tempos producing a postmortem sensation. Anatomia presents unprecedented moments on the third track “Despaired Void”, which contains many experimental elements like the dark chattering soundscapes that are enough to bring you the chills. The hallucinogenic trademark of mixing hypnotic samples with groovy bass guitar chords gives us a glimpse of their peculiar musical arrangements.

“Corporeal Torment” isn’t your typical death/doom album despite the few crushing moments which emanated from grinding drums. The second half of the album veers away from old school death metal to steep further in the atmospheric domains of funeral doom metal. The final track “Mortem” merges the pacing drums and experimental soundscapes of ambient music, clocking in twenty minutes of its hypnotic length.

The latest album isn’t quite as heavy as the previous albums because the songs become intervened by experimental components which somehow ruins the flow of the songs. This might be a bit disappointing for fans who have waited four years for the band to return. 

Release Date: May 20th, 2021
Label: Me Saco un Ojo Records / Dark Descent Records
Track list:

1. Dismemberment
2. Slime of Putrescence
3. Despaired Void
4. Mortem