Track Premiere: Metaphobic – “Hypnosis Engram”
As the pendulum swings, the trapdoor in your mind springs open. Memories long buried in grey matter escape their prison, wreaking havoc on your understanding of reality; your ability to separate guilt and innocence. Specters of trauma and regret take form, perching on your shoulder, whispering: “There was a time I trusted you;” “Why couldn’t you see?;” “You’ll never get the chance.” Metaphobic‘s “Hypnosis Engram” proves a fitting soundtrack for such an exorcism, where demons of the past, present, and future coalesce and must be reckoned with.
A stinging dissonance drapes the song from its first moments—the sound of paranoia; of danger stalking dark corridors. In the wake of a surprisingly melodic lead from guitarist Shawn Staszko, listeners are plunged into a slew of death metal influences, from groovy, mid-paced OSDM to the rapid, muted chords of brutal death. The band is no less adept when blackened doom elements manifest in the song’s second half, all lurching, queasy repetition. In a final spasm of discord, the hypnotist’s hold is shattered, and we’re left to pick up the pieces; to decide which splinters should stay exposed in the light, and which are fit only for burial.
Deranged Excruciations releases February 28 through Everlasting Spew Records.
