Album Review: Clairvoyance – “Chasm of Immurement” (Death Metal)

Written by Kep

I boarded the Clairvoyance hype train as it was barely leaving the station, when they released their first demo back in May of 2020. They had that je ne sais quoi that I crave in old school death metal, an ability to churn and pummel with ruthless efficiency, and even in 11 short minutes they flashed the sort of songwriting chops well-established bands wish they had. Blood Harvest took note and Clairvoyance gathered momentum, dropping their first EP Threshold of Nothingness in 2022 and with it adding a glut of new fans to their ranks. Then came a few years of silence—at least on the new music front—but now at long last it’s time for me to re-don my conductor’s cap and get back to business. Toot toot motherfuckers, hype train coming through and it’s picking up steam. 

The Polish quartet’s new offering is their first full-length and it comes courtesy of Bay Area death dealers Carbonized Records. Chasm of Immurement has been given the full Death Metal Long-Play on a Respected Label treatment, complete with rad artwork by Paolo Girardi, a multi-variant vinyl release, and a selection of shirts. Sometimes a debut LP can feel a bit underwhelming in circumstances like these—musical expectations raised by label push to a point where the album itself can’t match the bells and whistles—but luckily that’s not the case here. Clairvoyance’s riffs are far too powerful to be derailed. 

Chasm of Immurement is vintage work from these Poles and continues their upward trajectory. Churning Finnish school death riffs with remarkable groove drag you through the muck, tinges of doom plod and crush, earthshaking breakdowns hint at influences like Suffocation. It’s aggressive at every turn and filthy on top of that, marrying brutality with grime and just a bit of finesse, jagged lines like mountain ranges giving way to midtempo angularity, squealing solo chaos, and good old chunky bludgeoning. Clairvoyance’s best quality is their ability to execute so many facets of this sort of pummeling death metal really well, each part polished to a sheen to make one hell of a gem. 

Founding member and vocalist Maciej Cesarczyk’s growl is throaty and cavernous a la A.V. of Dead Congregation, a delightfully dank and grim presence. Bassist Vlad Levchenko and drummer Adrian Szczepański are as sturdy and battering as a rhythm section can be, helped by some particularly great mixing courtesy of Piotr Polak and guitarist Kacper Pawluk. But of course, a death metal album is only as good as its guitars, so what makes this album exception is Pawluk and founding member Denis Didenko showing out. Finn-influenced brutality with bits of American—New York in particular—death is a damn satisfying combination. Listen to the way those sinister tremolo lines give way to static picking over grooving drums and then monstrous stomping slams in the middle section of opener “Eternal Blaze”. Feel how the ever-rising riff that opens “Blood Divine” morphs into angularity, is obscured by merciless blasting, then drops into a laid-back chug over running double bass. Grotesque death/doom heavier than a collapsed star crushes (“Fleshmachine”), syncopated chug grooves get heads bobbing and asses throwing (2:20 of “Monument to Dread”, for example). Every damn thing Pawluk and Didenko play is catchy, and the band brings styles together with a deft touch. 

The album features a few guest spots, including a very cool sort of hazy, almost psychedelic solo from Derrick Vella (Tomb Mold, Dream Unending) near the top of “Hymn of the Befouled”, but honestly? I don’t think Chasm of Immurement needs them. They add a bit of additional flavor, but the record stands tall on its own merits. Clairvoyance are excellent songwriters—six tracks in 34 minutes here and they all feel shorter than they are—and the cohesion is tight across the board, as is the production. This is just really fucking good death metal, bottom line, and it doesn’t need guest solos spicing it up to make it rule. They’re the sprinkles on this sundae, adding some extra appeal, but it’s all that goodness beneath that matters.  

THE BOTTOM LINE

If you’re on the tracks get out of the way, because the Clairvoyance hype train is rolling strong and picking up speed. Chasm of Immurement is some of the best death metal I’ve heard this year and puts a lot of recent releases by more “experienced” bands to shame. Get it in your ears and get on board.