Returning from the depths with their third full length, South Dakota's Angerot blast forth into 2023 with The Profound Recreant. Coming via Redefining Darkness, this pounding, death metal chug-a-thon sweeps forth with a crisp, modern production proudly wearing its influences on its sleeves, Bringing in some big name guests to help rain death and destruction, Angerot's latest is a heavy riff-fest that will appeal to fans of both modern and old school death alike.

 

Opening with the cinematic and choral intro "Das Salz," one may be a bit confused in thinking they had just put on a mid 90's industrial album. However, the album quickly shows its true intentions with "They Shall Take Up Serpents." Hearkening back to the buzzsaws of 90's Morbid Angel or Dismember, one cannot help but bang their head to the heavy beat. The vocals are deep and rough, and the guitars belch out speedy riffs and phrases that help cut through the thick, heavy death. This straightforward pounder sets the stage for the rest of the album to follow, which utilizes many different death metal elements to keep The Profound Recreant from becoming a one-note composition. Heavy, blasting death gives way to grooving, breakdown-filled tracks, and even into tracks with black metal leanings. This varied approach works extremely well for Angerot and the seamless switches between styles give the listener an invigorating and immersive experience. As stated above, the band's influences are pretty apparent from not only their styles and tones, but through their choice of guest musicians. One picks up heavy nods to Morbid Angel and their mid 90's releases, Swedish Death, and early, synthesizer accented black metal. For guests, we see Steve Tucker (Morbid Angel), Jack Owen (fmr Cannibal Corpse), and Andy LaRocque (King Diamond) (to name a few), and they all lend their well-known talents to help Angerot pull off their excellent third full length.

 

Heavy, pounding, and generally fast, The Profound Recreant from Angerot is a very strong death metal album. While heavily influenced by older acts, the band shows their ability by using these pieces as inspiration to craft their own work instead of just parroting back 30-year-old riffs. Continuing to improve their craft and shape the current death metal scene, this quartet brings on a few choice guest musicians to help add to their loving tribute to their roots and say thanks for what allowed the genre to be where it is today.