Band:	Atvm
Album:	Famine, Putrid And Fucking Endless
Style:	Progressive death metal
Release date:	April 2021

01. Sanguinary Floating Orb
02. Ⲁⲛⲋ-ⲟⲩ Ⲙⲁⲧⲟⲩ
03. They Crawl
04. वाघनख (Vagh Nakh)
05. Squeal In Torment
06. Picture Of Decay
07. Slud

Extreme progressive metal is stealing the show in 2021.

Too much going on in very little time seems to be a general and well-founded criticism of technical death metal and progressive music in general. Bands tend to play as many notes as possible and as quickly as possible, but when that is the only endgame it rarely works. On Famine, Putrid And Fucking Endless every single note seems to be in the right place, and the album never gets self-indulgent. UK's Atvm play their music technically, yet unpretentiously; from multiple tempo- and time-signature changes, to various rhythm choices, to breaks and chugs and melodic gorgeousness, they seamlessly combine all their stylistic elements into a sound that is predominantly death metal but not exclusively.

The album carries many thrash metal elements and boasts a lot of groove and headbanging features, while also favouring melody in rather large amounts. Tracks like "Sanguinary Floating Orb" and "They Crawl" touch on melodeath quite often but it must be said that Famine, Putrid And Fucking Endless is, for the most part, aggressive and relentless. The softer passages are few and far between with the first one appearing around the middle of the second track, where an acoustic breather shyly appears only to be followed by some blackened blasting before it morphs into a chugging, decapitating headbanger. "वाघनख (Vagh Nakh)" is one of my two favourite tracks, because it is boosted with thrashiness and there are incredible riffs and leads flying from all directions.

What is worth noting is the fact that while there is a hefty number of different riffs and impressive sections on display, they are all given enough time to unfold and be absorbed by the listener so that the technicality does not become overwhelming. In other words, all seven gripping songs of this album are given the necessary space to fully expand during the 56-minute runtime.

Performance-wise, the album is also flawless. It is guitar-driven but also very well balanced, focused, and coherent. The drumming manifests virtuosity and creativity without being masturbatory. The only moment in which it unashamedly steals the show is towards the ending of "Slud", the album's closer and generally its most adventurous song. The bass lines are amazing throughout; instead of just following the rhythm guitar, the bass often treads in its own direction and gets opportunities to shine on many occasions, also aided by Colin Marston's excellent mix. If you're into funky slapping, check out the astounding "Picture Of Decay", which is my other favourite track.

Famine, Putrid And Fucking Endless is a killer release and among the best of the style in this first half of the year. It is refreshingly progressive, extremely well produced, the execution is fascinating, and there is hardly any low point in it. It is old-school in the sense that it worships the riff but it also sounds modern and innovative enough.

Atvm could have called it Proggy, riffy and fucking awesome. Because that's what it is.