### Soul Remnants: Plague of the universe

#### 22/07/10 || HailandKill

Soul Remnants may not be reinventing the wheel (much less the steel, har har), but what they do they do very well, which is pure death metal that draws heavily on the early 90’s pioneers. Rather than varnishing their debut opus in crap production however, Soul Remnants have enough brains between the three of them to lend “Plague of the Universe” a crisp sheen that doesn’t dilute the expected grit in their sound. For its opening bout of butchery, “Chopwork” lumbers in, burying your speakers under a ton of riffs and seismic percussion layered with Mitchell Fletcher’s excellent guttural grunts. As mentioned, the ingredients aren’t new, but Soul Remnants execute death metal with the finesse of seasoned professionals, so what comes out is unadulterated quality.

Further carnage commences for “Voluntary Internal Erosion” and the listener can expect numbing gratification on the ensuing songs, whether it’s the bare knuckle pace of “Ripping through Life” or the mosh worthy “Burning Reflection.” But to the band’s credit, fixated on tr00 death metal as they are, the trio aren’t a one trick pony forever obsessed with brutal blasts, brutaller lyrics, and death metal’s long established nonsense.

Guitarist Thomas Preziosi may be adept at grinding riffs, he’s also quite the tasteful lead player. His soulful excursions in guitar virtuosity are honey to the ears, and the listener will have to listen closely for these gems, buried as they are beneath layers of infernal vocal fusillades, relentless percussion bombardment, and the avalanche of guitars.

Yet despite the album’s charms, one cannot keep matters from getting a bit out of hand around the middle, where that dreadful pitfall that has cursed many a group victimizes this promising trio: Frankly, the songs start to sound alike somewhere around the middle.

Yet fear not, because Soul Remnants rally on the album’s final gasp—more like a long winded fart, actually—where they execute the immense title track that has almost everything crammed inside its hairy ass, from black metal symphonic atmosphere, to epic lyrics and fiery leads from Mr. Preziosi. Considering how much garbage the staff here at GD have to endure on a regular basis, Soul Remnants are a delightful breath of fresh air.

- Information
- Released: 2010
- Label: Self released
- Website: Soul Remnants MySpace
- Band
- Mitchell Fletcher: vocals
- Thomas Preziosi: guitars, bass
- Brett Jean: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Chopwork
- 02. Voluntary Internal Erosion
- 03. Bloodsick
- 04. Ripping Through Life
- 05. Remembrance
- 06. Burning Reflection
- 07. Final Eternity
- 08. Plague of the Universe