Band:	Djinn-Ghül
Album:	Opulence
Style:	Industrial deathcore
Release date:	July 2023

01. God Lymph
02. Xobek
03. Ghola
04. Opulence [feat. Jordan James]
05. Pseudosapien
06. Mother
07. Fruitless Grasp [feat. Phlegeton]
08. Garden Of Jaws (It Sees Too Much)
09. Grave Vessel

The use of electronics is becoming increasing popular in extreme metal and (insert prefix here)-core, yet there’s a relative dearth of such groups that could accurately be described as industrial fusions. One wonders why, when Djinn-Ghül make industrial deathcore/death metal sound so solid.

Opulence is the third full-length album from the American/Venezuelan duo behind this project, namely Pat Patiño (vocals) and Grant Nachbur (everything else), and by now, they’ve clearly found their groove (metaphorically and literally), as this fusion sounds tight and well-balanced; the cold, oppressive nature of industrial metal is a natural counterpart for extreme metal, which is already trying to pound listeners into submission through brutality. Combined, the industrial side of Djinn-Ghül not only sounds great when dominant in the mix, but also adds further heft to the visceral force of the brutal death and deathcore parts of the album.

The album is industrial throughout in the unmelodic churning guitar tones and hammering precision of the percussion, but the industrial/extreme metal balance does shift during the album. It’s probably hard to properly distinguish the specifics of the guitar tone when the drums are as ballistic as they are on the vicious “Xobek”, although even this track finds time for a nifty little electronic mid-song break, and delivers some meaty groove in its closing stages. “Ghola” exploits the atmospheric potential of mechanical sound effects in its introduction and outro, but is similarly bludgeoning on the percussive front once it gets going.

The brutal death elements include the vocals, which range from growls to screams, but tend towards brutal grunts; of note, two guest vocalist from brutal death bands, Jordan James of Disentomb and Phlegeton of Wormed, respectively appear on the title track and “Fruitless Grasp”, even though Patiño seems more than capable of unleashing sickening grunts by himself. Despite James’ presence, “Opulence” does bring about a slight change in tone; the sheer brutality of the preceding duo of songs is toned down a bit, at least in moments, in favour of an increased emphasis on groove (along with the addition of subtle yet effective background choirs to heighten the tension).

As much as the straight death parts are nice and meaty, it is the grooves that really drew me into Opulence. “Pseudosapien” has some gnarly chugs that demand neck movement, while “Fruitless Grasp” offers borderline sensory overload with the intense layering of extreme vocals on top of the bludgeoning foundational riffs (and that’s before you get to the cybergrind digital rhythms in its closing stages). I’m also quite fond of the ominous all-electronic interlude “Mother”, whose sinister metallic clangs give off a real sense of unease in hinting at further violence around the corner. If I had to pick out one standout song here, however, it would have to be closing track “Grave Vessel”; the dark dub electronic intro is a perfect tension-builder, and when the metal arrives, Djinn-Ghül are single-minded in committing to the tastiest, gnarliest groove possible, to make sure that listeners make the most out of their remaining neck muscle dexterity before the song is over.

If there’s anything I would change about Opulence, I wish that some of these songs and their best moments would last longer; I would quite happily listen to a version of “Grave Vessel” that was twice as long, and I’d rather that riff went on long enough to be in danger of growing stale rather than the brief flurries we get subjected to in this song. There’s only 1 song here that runs for over 4 minutes, and there's less than 30 minutes’ worth of material in total; I’m not sure Djinn-Ghül even needed to write additional material or riffs, but just prolonging the standout songs and sequences already here would have made this an even more addictive listen.