FROM THE ARCHIVES: ASEPTIC - Cascading Fluids (Review)

The Sleeping Village has been around for a few years now, and during that time, a lot of reviews have unceremoniously disappeared into the dark confines of our archives, destined to never see the light of the front page again. Music appreciation, however, is a timeless affair, and in that spirit, here is a review retrieved from the deep dark depths.

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Written by: The Administrator (originally published Jan. 5th, 2020)

If medical waste is unceremoniously disposed, as I like to imagine, in a dumpster out back behind the hospital, San Jose's Aseptic is the resulting viscera stew that oozes from bio-hazard bags and pools in the bottom. Not sure what I mean? Just imbibe in the sluicing juices and slimy riffage of the intro to Cascading Fluids. If you're still having trouble painting said picture--and god help you if that's the case--it may help to take note of the irrefutable fact that this EP legitimately sounds like it was recorded in a dumpster.

Hyperbole aside, this is good stuff. If you happen to be familiar with Aseptic’s stellar Senses Decay EP, just know that this is an entirely different kind of beast. Same killer riffs, but the aesthetic is stripped to the bone.

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Here, production quality is as bad as it gets. But ain't that the point? This is death metal seemingly born from the late 80's, relegated to live its life on a battered cassette. Think the aborted and mangled lovechild of Master's self-titled debut and Autopsy's Acts Of The Unspeakable. It's like if the component parts of Cannibal Corpse were boiled and left to congeal into globs of fat and unidentifiable bits of bone. No matter what half-baked correlation or metaphor we break out, a veritable bevy of unkind adjectives apply. Grimy. Putrid. Brutal. Retch-inducing. Whatever you want to call it, music of this ilk is nasty by design. Hence, your ability to enjoy Aseptic is directly correlated to your tolerance (or thirst, as the case may be) for such depravity.
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​From primitive riffs, to frenetic blasts, to grimy howls, to general ambiance, Cascading Fluids is gross across the board. Take closer "Addictive Reek,” which employs a nauseating shudder to break up the thumping riff, which lurches towards a vomitory peak before devolving back into, well, Cascading Fluids. Experiencing this album is like climbing inside a refrigerator that was been filled with jugs of milk back in the early 90's. And then spending the night there, locked inside, forced to breathe the mold and slime and whatever bacterial colonies have formed in the absence of light. In other words, Cascading Fluids is a grand ol' time, and if you're in the mood for some straight filth, I highly recommend you dive right in.

Aseptic - Cascading Fluids was released January 3rd, 2020 from Redefining Darkness Records. Find it here!

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Aseptic can be found:
Bandcamp
​Instagram