Visions of Disfigurement - Aeons of Misery

Having released a series of singles since their new EP “Exordium” back in October 2019 (after being signed to Realityfade Records earlier the same year), Visions of Disfigurement are on their best form so far, and they haven’t even peaked yet. Along with welcoming their newest guitarist only last year, the boys have been busy as part of the 0161 Slamchester movement. Visions of Disfigurement are one of the leading figures in the Manchester Slam/Brutal Death Metal scene, along with the likes of Ingested, Chainsaw Castration and Crepitation, as well as plenty others unmentioned, helping with a revival of the Brutal Death Metal genre which was almost dying out in Britain, especially with a lot of the best bands in the scene being situated around Europe and the United States (more notably Europe with bands like Begging for Incest and Kraanium, if you like the filthy depraved sounds of beautiful cacophony that perpetuate through the creative whims of the souls behind Visions of Disfigurement).

 

With their taste for unrelenting blast beats and balls-to-the-wall riffs that are dirty enough to deserve an hour-long shower, Visions of Disfigurement are getting continually more brutal with each release. A band of 6 years in the making, the Visions sound of 2014 has evolved from record to record, gradually becoming more refined, realising their musical visions (get it) as each new release is bestowed upon us. Always with a flair for brutality, harkening back to the early Brutal Death Metal and Slam of the late 2010’s with the likes of Begging for Incest, Annotations of an Autopsy (back in their Sludge City & Throne of Infection era) and Kraanium to name but a few, with the sorts of melodic riffs that have almost become somewhat rare this day in age within the genre. Admittedly I switch off a little when all I can hear is one slam having a conversation with another, riff after riff of percussive cacophony which, whilst immensely cathartic, becomes a little monotonous. However, Visions manage to avoid this trap. Since broadening their spheres of influences, they have evolved a wider musical vocabulary – notably the sounds of Job For a Cowboy, Cattle Decapitation, Devourment, maybe even Analepsy… Either way, I think it’s clear by this point that visions know their sound, and this is evident in the finesse with which they pull it off…

 

Something that has always stuck out to me about their writing style is that, from day one, their sense of flow within the structures of their songs shows they know exactly what their audience want to hear. You could say this applies to the overall structure for the album too, as the first half of the album feels a little like a warm-up for the latter half. Where the formula of intro-verse-chorus-verse-breakdown is skilfully adhered to for the first few tracks, this is explored a little more by the time we reach “Spawning Putrefaction” 6 songs deep. By this point, the broader influences at work come into play – melodic snippets of riffs framing the dirtier slamming riffs which characterise their sound, like at the beginning of “Spawning Putrefaction”. It’s really interesting to hear Visions push the boundaries in fact, I’ve come to expect something a little formulaic with a lot of Brutal Death Metal, but if you listen to “Plagues” at the very end of the brief 35 minute long album, you’re in for a bloody treat. Personally I hear a flavour of Acrania creeping in, what with the intro of clean guitar tones teasing the ear, but there’s definitely something there born of the likes of Cattle Decapitation or Job For a Cowboy. By the time the verse is reached, the melodic dissonance in the held chords make way for a little experimentation later on down the line. A tempo change here, a new riff there (out of nowhere), not to mention being rounded off at the end with a quotation from the intro, Visions are reaching for something better, setting a new standard for what the genre should be expected to deliver. Bouncy breakdowns abundant, hammers at the ready, Visions never fail to disappoint at delivering something that makes you want to take a shit and leave it for someone else to flush.

 

JR