Metal Debate Album Review - Epigenetic Neurogenesis (Cephalotripsy)

The Great Metal Debate Podcast

Welcome to another Great Metal Debate podcast review. Today we got a special one. Maybe you don't know this band but you've definitely seen the horrific album cover for their 2007 debut Uterovaginal Insertion of Extirpated Anomalies. This band is Cephalotripsy and this is their sophomore album titled Epigenetic Neurogenesis. Gee, if only we could get Vital Remains to finally release their first album in 17 years that has been allegedly completed for 8 years ... Here's a not so fun fact for you listeners. A cephalotripsy is a procedure that involves crushing the head of a stillborn fetus in the womb to facilitate delivery. Obviously this album cover is a lot more family friendly than the former. But let's get into the music. The first single that was released two months ago was the album title track which has Matti Way from Abominable Putridity/ex-Pathology as a guest feature. Speaking of Pathology, the first few seconds of this song reminded me of the same guitar chugs in the beginning of the song "Tyrannical Decay". But that album had Johnathan Huber from I Declare War on vocals. Matti on the other hand, usually has a very distinct vocal tone but I honestly could not tell when he was on the mic. Both Angel and Matti gurgle and pig squeal their way through this whole track and I can't tell you whose who. Despite this song being accompanied by a lyrical video, it does not sound like they're saying any of those words. But hey, who the fuck listens to brutal death metal and expects to hear words? I listen for the brutality and the more disgusting it sounds, the better. "Alpha Terrestrial Polymorph" and "Induced Primordial Regression" were the next two songs I heard and ... Geez, what's the deal with every band I've been reviewing lately having the word Primordial in their song titles? That's just a little phenomenon I've noticed over the past few months. But then I heard the song "Excision of Self" which has another guest feature, this time with Ivan Tyulkin from the Russian death metal bands Insect Inside and Nauseating. "Entrenched In Fluids Of Enigmatic Predation" was yet another heavy hitter along with "Ulcerated Mass Of Pestilent Engorgement" which features Clayton Meade from Condemned. I have been a long time fan of Condemned but I also couldn't tell when Clayton was on the mic either. All I know is that it sounded every bit as brutal as the rest of the record. There are no duds on this album and "Lo Tech Non Entity" continues to prove my point. Each track is guaranteed to stomp a mudhole in your eardrum's ass. Don't believe me? Then check out the track titled "Arcane Rites Of The Transdimensional Progeny". What do I think of this entire album as a whole? It's definitely sick as fuck! Was this album really worth the 17 year long wait. No it wasn't, and I'll tell you why. See, this album suffers from the same issue as the newest Torsofuck album that came out last year. The reason why Uterovaginal was so good was because it was some of the heaviest shit that money could buy back in 2007. There wasn't any over saturation in the genre at the time. Bands like this back then were hard to find. Sure, Guttural Engoregment existed but there wasn't 100 zillion Cephalotripsy copycats yet. if I'm being real, this album just sounds like everything else out there. Aside from it just being balls to the wall, there's nothing overly special about it now in the year 2024. The niche for this type of brutality seems to only be original if its old. I know, it sounds like a weird critique but I'm sure someone out there understands what I'm trying to say. Its still really good for what it is though. But, I can't really rate it higher than a 7/10. As I mentioned at the start of this review, you should be able buy Cephalotripsy's merch from the website Reality Fade. But they of course have some things on Brutal-Mind and their Bandcamp page.