### Lord Mantis: Pervertor

#### 13/02/13 || gk

What do you get when you put musicians from Indian and Nachtmystium in the same band? Some of the most devastating blackened sludge of 2012. “Pervertor” is one aggressive and addictive album filled with dissonant and incredibly heavy grooves and one of the most memorably extreme vocal performances I’ve heard in a long while.

Pervertor of the will opens proceedings with a thick and heavy groove but somewhere along the way, mutates into a blackened death metal beast. It’s an exhilarating start to the album and sets the stage superbly for what’s to come. “Septichrist” is all dissonant riffs and jagged edges and its mid-paced groove owes something to Meshuggah. Vile divinity opens with a driving and dissonant guitar progression before somehow transforming into a giant groove and becoming almost catchy. The drums drive this song forward in a relentless manner and the dual vocals are pretty terrific but it’s when the song goes back to that opening riff that the payoff happens. “The whip and the body” closes the album with a slightly more black metal approach to the sludge and is a perfect end to “Pervertor”.

This is some seriously heavy music. The guitars of Andrew Markuszewski and Greg Gomer are heavy and dissonant and focus on repetition to pound the life out of the listener but they can also groove. Drummer Bill Bumgardner from Indian pulls off a stunning display and his aggression drives these songs forward. The real star though is vocalist and bass player Charlie Fell. His effects laden harsh screams are skin crawlingly intense and even when he goes completely over the top it just adds to the atmosphere of the songs.

“Pervertor” is a huge step up from the debut for Lord Mantis. This is some vile, hateful and nihilistic sludge with elements of black and death metal. What makes this album really stand out though is that the songs are memorable. If you liked Indian’s brilliant 2011 album Guiltless or want to see what the Nachtmystium guys do in their free time, then check this out. Be warned though, Lord Mantis is not for the weak of heart.

- Information
- Released: 2012
- Label: Candlelight
- Website: Lord Mantis Bandcamp
- Band
- Charlie Fell: vocals, bass
- Andrew Markuszewski: guitars
- Greg Gomer: guitars
- Bill Bumgardner: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Pervertor of the Will
- 02. Septichrist
- 03. Vile Divinity
- 04. Levia
- 05. Ritual Killer
- 06. At the Mouth
- 07. The Whip and the Body