Gore fueled death metallers PATHOLOGY return with their 11th studio album THE EVERLASTING PLAGUE. Originally a song title from a previous album, the band “thought it was fitting as [they] wrote the album during a global pandemic that never seemed to end,” explained founder and drummer Dave Astor. “It also pertains to the general ills of the human condition; and that’s what the songs are about. The themes on this album range from death rituals, to premeditated murder, to torture and addiction.”
The demented priest sometimes seen gracing the cover of other PATHOLOGY albums makes a reapearrance here as an apex zombie ripping the flesh from his fellow dead man as he ascends to the top of a demolished city. Long time artist companion Par Olofsson returned to the PATHOLOGY fold to design the piece. “We have fun with the doctor in our covers. He’s become part of our imagery and changes from cover to cover. He just does his thing and we have fun with it,” laughs Astor.
Each of the songs was a collaborative effort, with every member playing a unique role in the process. With most of said writing having gone down at the band’s practice space, pieces of songs were written, then combined, and recorded. Once the skeletons existed, they were handed to vocalist Obie Flett to sew in lyrics and vocal patterns. “As far as recording goes, we book a week or so, it’s a few hundred miles from home so we grab a hotel, and that week is crunch time. In my experience, the more prepared you are for the studio, the better the process. We like to be thoroughly acquainted with the album and then we can hammer it out. It’s always a good time,” describes Astor. For mixing and mastering the band returned to Zach Ohren of Castle Ultimate. “This is the second consecutive album he’s done with us and we like his style, and professionalism. This time around, we trust Zach to handle everything. He has a way of capturing the ferocity we want in our tunes,” explains Astor.
Tracks like “A Pound of Flesh,” which comes equipped with a brutal music video depicting the hideousness of plastic surgery addiction, bludgeon the speakers with savage and heavily grooved sound. Flett found inspiration for the lyrics in the real life horror that is the plastic surgery disaster: The Lion Lady.
“Engaging in Homicide” took the bulk of its inspiration from the viciousness of the song itself. Flett actually listened to the music first, in order to acquire inspiration for lyrics. With sweeping, hostile guitar riffs and perfectly timed guttural vocals, the lyrics discuss the planning stages of a grotesque murder.
“I think all the tracks on this album stand out,” says Flett. “We went all out on this one. We added some new elements to our music that give certain songs a different, fresh feel. This album is definitely an awesome journey from start to finish.” Recently signed to Nuclear Blast Records, PATHOLOGY are charged with a violent hunger to return to the road, and unleash their latest monstrous music to the masses.
Read our review here.
