Written by Zax
- Headshrinker – “Callous Indifference”
- Dissonant Death Metal from the United States
- Released independently on August 27th, 2021
- 8.3
This week was pretty massive for death metal, both Aborted and Inferi dropped this week, along with a young favorite of mine, Æpoch, dropping a new EP. All of those projects were brilliant, but you know what? Experimental death metal newcomers Headshrinker managed to grab my attention over all of the aforementioned projects.
https://headshrinker.bandcamp.com/album/callous-indifference
This record has a lot to offer, but all of the content has one thing in common; it’s dark and exquisitely brutal. They tap into blackened death, death doom, and dissonant death metal on this gem of a debut album for a truly sinister, bleak concoction. They even touch on DSBM aesthetics at one point.
The riffs on this thing will knock you on your ass, for real. Listen to that skull stomping guitar and bass assault that kicks off “Cadaver’s Mind” for example. This record is heavy in many senses, especially in that it’s avant-garde and dissonant in a way to where the heaviest parts catch you off guard.
This album is scary, but not in the traditional sense. You’re not gonna find grotesque torture, zombies, or aliens on this record, no, it’s more of a… psychological horror. There’s an intense feeling of dread and suspense that comes with this listen. it actually feels deeply emotional at points. There’s one segment in my personal favorite track on the record “Haunted By Your Reflection” in which the music fades to a low, off-putting melody as the vocalist belts out some of the most disturbing screams I’ve heard in a while, it’s easily one of the most intense moments I’ve heard all year.
With that said, vocalist Tim Kuhn is an absolute beast. His performance here is truly outstanding, especially his high screams, absolutely otherworldly.
I feel this record sort of falling under the radar a bit, and I’m here to – hopefully – make sure that doesn’t happen. This is a must hear death metal record for 2021.
8.3
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