Nope. Let’s jump into it because the band surely wastes no time. It’s clear right from the opening of “Brutalist Imperator” that the band occupies some space in the dissonant death metal sub-genre, but they have something else happening. They walk a line between that, groove, and sometimes even djent. Don’t get confused, though. Periphery or Tesseract this is not. You won’t find any high-pitched cleans here.

What you will find is a death metal band firing on all cylinders with that overwhelming sense of dread in the background, presumably executed by some 8-string guitars. Take away that sense of dread and you’d still have some badass death metal in a track such as “Throe of Illicit Withdrawal.” I can see the part beginning around 1:30 in becoming a pit starter, as there’s a slight buildup to the heavy groove section.

They do slow it down on the next track, which is an interlude, but they do pick it back up immediately with “Suffering Beyond Death.” What’s beginning to stand out to me on this song and album is that what sets them apart from other bands in this style is the production. Frequently enough, bands have a suffocating sound when it comes to this, but on Deformity Adrift, the production allows them to show off their ability to write monster songs, and in my opinion, this is the best one.

“Hammer of Desolation” is another great one. John Collett’s commanding roars, along with the pounding drums, the bass, and the heavy-as-hell guitars may sometimes make you think there are no guitarists, just bassists. Think of Meshuggah beating the absolute shit out of you in a dark alley and I think you’re there.

To close it out is “Obliterated Shine.” That dissonant echo of the drums’ downbeat is sinister. This should be playing when your favorite movie monster comes up from the basement to slay everything in his or her path. It’s almost serpent-like in the way it slithers its way inside your brain. When Paul’s blasts mix with the rest of the rhythm section, it just feels that much heavier.

This is a quick album at only 32 minutes, but it stands alongside my current AOTY pick, Entheos’ Time Will Take Us All as one of the grooviest of the year, although in a different way. I’m digging it, as evidenced by my previous words. I’m still not sure of its replay value as the year goes on, but I think it’s a must-listen.

With the aptly tittles Cacophony of Terror, the debut album from Nightmarer will see the band quickly enter elite status, and that may come as a surprise to some considering the bloodlines are John Collett of Success Will Write Apocalypse Across the Sky (also ex Dehumanized and ex Gigan) and two ex dudes from German deathcore/pseudo grind/noise mongers War From a Harlots Mouth. 

All the bands in my opening paragraph stand as contemporaries and peers for Nightmarer’s discordant, tumbling death metal miasma filtered through Deathspell Omega. But a clear,  but punishing production and guitar tone, and the occasional moment of Floridian (Discarnate comes to mind) death metal restraint allows the material to be not utterly suffocating, but more of a controlled, slow sonic waterboarding.

From opening instrumental “The Descent” to short closing vortex of “Swansong”, ( there is a bonus industrial remix of “Cave Digger” tacked on the and of the album) the album’s succinct 30 minute or so run time is never wasted on too much nauseating ambiance or build but direct riffs bifurcated into churning, atonal tidal waves (“Stahlwald”, “Ceremony of Control”, “Swansong”, “Fetisch”, close of “Death”) or lumbering, lurching, staggering discordance (“Skinner”). And it’s these thunderously oozing latter  moments where the album’s tendrils  truly grasp you as the likes of “Bleach”, “Cave Digger”, “Death” and  last part of monstrous “Tidal Waves of Terror” where the heaving, more controlled dense murk has a more effective, oppressive presence.

Collet has the expected cavernous growl, but it’s surprisingly decipherable, and the meld of clarity and chaos is delivered with powerful confidence, without too much wasted ambiance or sheer noise. Its essentially a perfect addition to Season of Mist’s roster (I’m surprised Dark Descent didn’t snatch these guys up) , and its one of 2018s more imposing, impressive releases.