Costa Rican death doom agonizers Perishing have returned since their demo to give us their harrowing first full length “Malicious Acropolis Unveiled”. A truly unforgiving album filled with the heaviest tracks within the genre this year.
Since forming in 2023, the band has been working in the underground & with the release of their 2024 demo, the band caught a lot of ears, including myself, for being one of the most depraved bands within the death doom genre for some time. Their raw, emotional & depressing take on the genres heralds influences from titans like Disembowelment, Rippikoulu & Winter. But the band’s inventive songwriting has helped them stand out from the pack.
Featuring some notable musicians in the scene, Perishing features JM Arrea (Astriferous, ex-Bloodsoaked Necrovoid) on Drums, José Pablo Phillips (Astriferous, Candarian) on Bass, Justin Sánchez (Mortual, Necroferum) on Guitars, and J. Antonio Salas on vocal duty.
“Autolysis (I. Imago Fluidus Macula),” the album’s opening track, goes straight off the heavy riffage and grabs you straight away. With a great steamroller pace, the band barrages on with intent. Salas’s vocals are cavernous and have a dirty but haunted feel. As the track proceeds, the band starts to slow things down, and the doom sections start creeping in.
One of my favourite things about the band is the single guitar & bass sound. The bass guitar by Phillips is a part of the band & albums sound. It has its own dirty, gut punching sound but also has clarity when needed & feels like a nice yin to guitarist Sánchez’s yang. With his distorted, fuzzed out large feeling guitar tone. As the track reaches its peak, each instrument closely steps away, at first guitar, bass then drums & finally vocalist Salas lets out an eerie but lonesome growl & on a dime the band come back in together as the next track begins. This kind of song writing is great. As we all know death doom after a while can get long winded, this idea really helped build the track up & fits nicely into its second part, “Autolysis (II. Fatum Cursed by Nature)”
Bringing back up the speed & intensity the band gives me heavy feelings of the drawn out, double bass peddling of say Autopsy. Perishing has this very raw, primal feel. Knuckle dragging if you will, but they never get too standard. At the end of the track they introduced this simple but effective riff that picks up the pace, they hold onto it as they increase the intensity and at the very last second release & finish the track. A nice way to build towards the mountain that is this album.
The most punishing track on the album “Osedax (Devoured by the Cavernous Worm)” is a true apocalyptic anthem. Opening with what might be the hardest riff of the year, just this hard hitting single note strum & thunderous drums build & build unto the the whole band comes in & goes full tilt. This one truly feels like you’re being run over by a tank with its huge weight of how heavy this opening is. The band repeats it for a few bars, which when it hits this hard is a good thing before Salas’s vocals joins in.
The tracks he laid down on this one feel like his deepest, most guttural on the album. And hey for a track that’s the heaviest on the album they fit perfectly. This track is a must listen!!
Perishing is a band within a genre that is helping to push its boundaries. “Malicious Acropolis Unveiled” is not only a fantastic death doom album but what it does for the genre is superb. Pushing song writing, dynamics & all round giving the listening something to latch onto & keeps you coming back for more.
Review: Joseph Mitchell
Malicious Acropolis Unveiled is out via Transcending Obscurity Records on 17th October 2025
Lineup –
JM Arrea (Astriferous, ex-Bloodsoaked Necrovoid) – Drums
José Pablo Phillips (Astriferous, Candarian) – Bass
Justin Sánchez (Mortual, Necroferum) – Guitars
J. Antonio Salas – Vocals
Artwork by Belial NecroArts (Undersave,
Track listing –
1. Autolysis (I. Imago Fluidus Macula)
2. Autolysis (II. Fatum Cursed by Nature)
3. Castle of the Leached Body 08:57
4. Las Ruinas del Palacio
5. Osedax (Devoured by the Cavernous Worm) 09:21
6. Acropolis of Malignancy
Official Video Stream #1
Official Video Stream #2
Perishing Bandcamp
Official Transcending Obscurity Site
Transcending Obscurity Facebook