Paroxsihzem - Paroxsihzem

PAROXSIHZEM - Paroxsihzem (HELLTHRASHER - LP 2013)

Paroxsihzem… damn, I try and try, but I just couldn’t pronounce this word at all. My tongue keeps breaking somewhere at the letters “hz-em”… Damn Canadians nowadays really like to play with us, creating such unbelievably unique and difficult band names like Mitochondrion and Antediluvian. But definitely so far Paroxsihzem (this name comes from the word paroxysm - a sudden recurrence or attack of a disease; a sudden worsening of symptoms) is the worst (still better than the name of Mexican Paracoccidioidomicosisproctitissarcomucosis hehehe!). Anyway, Paroxsihzem from Canada started with a couple of demos, then sold their souls to Dark Descent Records and “Paroxsihzem” is their debut full length. What I have here though is actually the freshly released vinyl version of this album, which Polish Hellthrasher Productions unleashed in June. And well, speaking of the quality of this vinyl I can only praise the label for doing a killer work. Great quality, superb gatefold, amazing graphics and layout and the limited to 100 copies killer blue splatter vinyl… can you desire anything more? Well, for sure it would be nice if the music was also such awesome. In case of “Paroxsihzem” I can say that I quite like the music, but at the same time I expected something more crushing and in result I feel not 100% impressed as I wished.

The main problem with “Paroxsihzem”, which I have, lies in the production of this album. It just gives me a small headache, as I think it really was fucked up. The whole sound is muddy and chaotic, which itself may not really be the problem, but I am talking about the guitars, which have some sort of reverb, which pisses me off, really. It almost sounds like the band was playing inside of the huge chamber or cathedral and the sound was echoing within these walls, bouncing off them and coming back to you like an echo… Sorry, but it really doesn’t sound right to me and only disturbs, creates more confusion and chaos than it underlines the atmosphere of the music. It could have been done better definitely, especially as the guitar tone on its own is fine and fits the style of music, which Paroxsihzem performs, perfectly. I usually try not to moan much about the production values, unless they’re really terrible, and in case of “Paroxsihzem” it is not terrible, just disappointing, as if the album didn’t have that reverb it would sound just better. Hmm, maybe it is just a matter of taste… find out yourself what do you think about it. I feel like it was destroying the experience of listening to the music.

From the strictly musical point of view Paroxsihzem performs an utterly massive, dark, morbid and gloomy death metal… very much influenced by the cult of Incantation, but the band is also quite often compared to the two Canadian bands, which I already mentioned before - Mitochondrion and Antediluvian, as well as to Portal. I think that all these comparisons are quite right; all bands have a lot in common and all create that gloomy, obscure, ghoulish atmosphere in their totally brutal and filthy music. When I listen to “Paroxsihzem” the music really creates almost a claustrophobic and suffocating feeling, like the walls of a tomb or coffin were just getting closer and closer as you’re slowly running out of the air. These riffs are just damn heavy and massive, whether the band plays some doomy, creepy parts or fastens the music in some truly insane, bestial and evil songs… Sadly that wall of sound makes a chaotic feeling, with some rather unreadable riffs and more so, sometimes I almost couldn’t hear the drums, especially the snare drum. Luckily at least the deep, ghoulish growling of Krag, similar to Craig Pillard’s, is well audible.

But I keep listening to “Paroxsihzem” and I somehow couldn’t 100% convince myself to it. Hmm, the problem is that – maybe due to that muddy production and reverb – after listening to the album few times I still couldn’t remember the songs or particular riffs, the music is quite chaotic and it just isn’t able to fully capture my attention and excite me, as much as I would like it to. I keep blaming the production for it, but probably the songwriting on “Paroxsihzem” also isn’t the most thrilling and impressive; it is slid and all right, but nothing more to that and for sure it doesn’t match the quality of bands like Disma, Ingnivomous, Father Befouled, etc. I praise the band for ability to create great sick, dark and morbid atmosphere, for that asphyxiating feeling, but I just think that the whole music lacks some spark, which would ablaze the fuckin place in second. So, the album is only decent, but not quite as thrilling yet. At least I cannot say that Paroxsihzem is any better than the bands, which I mentioned in this review. But for sure if you’re into this sick music then “Paroxsihzem” may be a good offer for you – it will drain into your brain until you feel pain and discomfort. In this case I recommend you getting the vinyl, as it is just perfectly released.

Standout tracks: sorry, I just couldn’t mention one; none of them really stayed in my mind for longer

Final rate: difficult, but I give it 70/100