CAVERN WOMB - Stages of Infinity (Review)

Written by: The Administrator

The cover art of Cavern Womb's stellar debut EP, Stages of Infinity, feels like the pure essence of death metal captured in visual form. Garish and gross and eldritch, yet alluring all the same, this imagery sits in that uncomfy and uncanny zone betwixt body and cosmic horror. It manages to represent the utterly incomprehensible. Luckily for all you death metalheads, Cavern Womb's music itself--while fascinatingly off-kilter--still hovers within the realm of comprehensible.

Across four sizable tracks, Stages of Infinity serpentines through an arena of twisted riffs, gnarly oddity, and proggy polycephalous song structures. There's an uncanniness woven among the atmosphere and the pronounced groove. Just when you think you have a track's approach and character nailed down, it warps and morphs into something unexpected. Something...alien.

Were you expected a cowbell in the midst of cosmic death riffage? I wasn't, I can tell you that much.

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While opener "Exultation of Depraved Majesty" starts off with some fairly classic mid-paced riffage, everything beyond the first minute or so is decidedly more squirmy and expansive, with a focus on instrumentation over vocalization. I'm a particular fan of the solo that rips open the midsection, adding some nice flash and flair to counteract the aggression that immediately follows. The track brings a spaced-out segment towards the tail end, but of course kicks into high gear for the last few seconds. "Amber Scourge" immediately returns to the cosmic vibe with a cleaner tone...but then the aesthetic and mood shifts again. And again. And again. 

​I quite enjoy the fakeouts littering this project. Take the seemingly conclusive planet-devouring growl that hits around the 3:30 mark of "Amber Scourge." This would have been a satisfying end in and of itself, but then the guitar ramps back up again for burly bonus riffage that eventually warps into cosmic territory with some flexuous psychedelia. In short: nothing here is dull or monotonous or boring. New elements are introduced and abandoned and reborn in new forms. Tempo is liable to change drastically at the moment's notice. Take mighty closer "A Vessel For the Esoteric," which grooves and punches with a sharp aggression, yet squirms at points into lumbering death-doom territory. But perhaps the best example of Cavern Womb's inclination to slow thing down would be "Cyropreserved." True to its title, this track--my personal favorite--finds a more sedate pocket in the second act, providing some respite that somehow never loses a tense edge. Rather than ride out on an unhurried note, the cryosleep ends in a ripping, frantic, and otherwise fiery conclusion.
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The frequent soloing is a highlight across the short runtime, consistently cramming even more variety and dynamics into the composition. The drumming is constantly interesting and dynamic, with the percussion on the first half of "A Vessel For The Esoteric" making a particularly strong impact when it comes to track memorability. The relatively minimal and judicious approach when it comes to vocals is another notable quality. This isn't to say the indiscernible growls are bad--far from it, particularly those massively deep gutturals that offer so much to the overall atmosphere--but the focus on extended instrumental passages makes the vocals hit that much harder when they do emerge. 

I listened to this EP upon release, and initially enjoyed it quite a bit. The longer I spend with it, I find myself enjoying it more and more. Over the past few months I've been consistently drawn back to Stages of Infinity, and at this stage now consider it one of the more intriguing death metal releases of the year. Indeed, Stages of Infinity is required death metal listening for 2024, as far as I'm concerned. Not bad standing for a release clocking in at a mere 24 minutes. I have a great and terrible need for a full album of this material, and will be watching Cavern Womb's career with significant interest.

Cavern Womb - Stages of Infinity was released May 24th, 2024 via Rotted Life. Find it here!​

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Cavern Womb can be found:
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