Escarnium - Dysthymia

Escarnium Ventures "Far Beyond Primitive" Death Metal (Early Track Stream)


Doom metal doesn’t hold a monopoly on being depressing–sometimes death metal can be a real bummer, in the best possible sense of the term. On their upcoming EP Dysthymia Brazilian death metallers Escarnium conjure up some exceptionally gloomy and downcast death metal, depicting the world in sickening shades of gray. It’s not exceedingly technical or dissonant — their slowly unfurling riffs just tap into a subconscious well of unease that serves as the perfect setting for their similarly miserable subject matter, making sinking into this swamp easy. Intentionally cultivated despair is much more enjoyable than the natural, everyday sort, after all — listen to new single “Far Beyond Primitive” below.

This track wastes absolutely no time on pleasantries, diving right into the pummeling drumbeats and undulating guitar-driven agony that the EP generally excels at. The perfectly-placed harmonics in the chorus are one of my favorite parts of the song, but each part of “Far Beyond Primitive” has been fine-tuned to smash skulls and spirits alike — especially that skin-crawling sample at the end, which the band explains further in an accompanying statement:

The background of the song “Far Beyond Primitive” is about the Colônia Hospital in Brazil. Nowadays, it’s referred to as the Brazilian Holocaust. At that hospital there were not only mentally disabled people, but also drug addicts, political enemies, homosexuals, and the homeless. Official estimates report over 60,000 deaths occurred inside the wards between 1903-1980. It was a theater of genocide. On the end of the track, you can hear the real screams of the people filmed in a documentary. It’s incredible how mankind can so easily subjugate what they deem as “unwelcome or unwanted” people. Like always, our lyrics are connected with reality; exploring topics surrounding humans without humanity or human decadence.

Dysthymia releases September 9th via Redefining Darkness Records.