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Say what thou will about names and roses, but sometimes a name tells you everything you need to know. With that in mind, let's direct our attention to Ravaged Spleen Outburst. I might not know exactly what you hear when you read that name, but I do know that it's likely loud, vile and violent - and you're 100% right. The Church of Anemia is the full-length debut by the aforementioned gore monger, and it's every bit as fierce and filthy as you've likely gleaned from their name.
While a previous EP (Lymph Node), introduced the Serbian one-man project as a relatively straightforward - albeit wondrously wretched - slam act, The Church of Anemia offers human sacrifices to multiple metal altars. Slam still serves as the album's spine and spirit, yet a strong sense of melody coupled with an eagerness to explore has allowed the aural infection of Ravaged Spleen Outburst to further spread into blackened melodeath territory. When this thing isn't beating your face in, it forces you to bang your battered head to riffs from the filthiest corners of Gothenburg, occasionally dragging you to Hell for black metal refreshments.
While the versatility of this violent vessel is impressive, the most standout - and violent - feature of any Ravaged Spleen Outbursting is the vocal performance by mastermind A. Ð.. The Church finds A. Ð. introducing psychotic black metal shrieks into the mix, but it was his downright inhuman growls that made Lymph Node really stand out to me, and the gurgling bellows that resonate within The Church are something sickeningly special once again. I defy anyone to find anything else as perfectly putrid as Ravaged Spleen Outburst's growls: shy of a boldface lie, it simply can't be done.
While exploration and uniqueness are all well and good, the most crucial part of any listening experience is enjoyability. Fortunately, this Church is fun as fuck. "Breeding the bleeding" blends brutal slam with a barbaric take on melodeath, and "Cult of the Vein" is a straight up insane slab of symphonic obsidian savagery; A. Ð.'s zeal is audible and infectious, this thing tears the listener so many new ones in so many ways and it's hard to imagine anyone with an appreciation for the grimiest side of slam not having an absolute blast in The Church of Anemia.
The squalid sounds of Ravaged Spleen Outburst are not for everyone; The Church of Anemia is not for those who fear riffs, slams and solos, and it is certainly not for those afraid of filth. It is disgusting, raucous and merciless, and if you believe in such heresy as 'too brutal' or any similar nonsense then this is absolutely not The Church for you. Those brave of heart, ironclad of stomach and relentless in their search for riffs, though: rejoice, and get your ass down to Church, there's a rotting miracle waiting just for you.
