Pyrexia - Sermon of Mockery

I thought i would begin this blog with one of my favorite Death Metal albums.

Pyrexia alongside Suffocation were among the earliest (and best) exponents of NYDM (New York Death Metal) and progenitors of the Brutal Death Metal genre. Anyone familiar with either of those sub-species will know that means intense percussive DM with deep guttural vocals and massive grooves, to which Sermon of Mockery is absolute testament.

This is the original pressing on Drowned Productions from 1993 which is something of a collectors item. I picked this up after a frustrated day of record hunting in London 2 years ago. At £20 it is one of my most expensive purchases, but still very much a bargain. There was a re-issue from 1998 on Pathos that includes the Liturgy of Impurity demo again very much out of print.

Pyrexia whilst derivative of their peers Suffocation were no mere clone, perhaps the most striking aspect of Sermon of Mockery is its exceptional rhythm section, the bassist and drummer give equally stellar performances laying a solid foundation for the guitars to focus on pummeling riffs based around twisting, syncopated chord progressions. Sermon is not without its faults. While the vocalist possesses a brutal low growl but never really explores beyond that. In comparison to another NYDM classic Effigy of the Forgotten the songwriting of Sermon is less varied, while there aren't exactly any weak tracks being honest the structures and riffs from track to track are very similar.

Despite these flaws and the legion of questionable Brutal/Slam acts that profess its influence Sermon of Mockery is a seminal example of this specific sub-species of DM and well deserving classic across the wider genre.