BRYGMUS Vitiate CD

The 2021 album Vitiate by the Hungarian band Brygmus, released as a professional 4 panel CD digipak via the Dutch label Dying Sun Records, is a grim and suffocating exploration of Blackened Sludge and Doom Metal. Hailing from Budapest, the band delivers a debut full-length that is markedly different from traditional black metal, opting instead for a sound that prioritizes crushing weight, dissonant textures, and a turgid, slow-motion aggression. Released on November 1, 2021, and limited to 300 copies, the album established Brygmus as a formidable force in the Central European underground, blending the misanthropic spirit of black metal with the abrasive, industrial-tinged filth of the sludge genre. The album consists of seven tracks, including six original compositions and a respectful yet filth-ridden cover of the Beherit classic Unholy Pagan Fire. The songwriting, primarily handled by guitarist Bence Szakács with vocals by Szófia Komódi, explores themes of physical decay, spiritual emptiness, and existential pain through titles such as When Only Pain Satisfies, Flesh Cult, and Isolated from Life. Musically, the record is characterized by its thick, low-end production and a vocal performance that oscillates between harrowing shrieks and guttural groans, all while maintaining a persistent atmosphere of urban desolation. By concluding with the short but intense Penetrate Into Temple (Proselyte Regulator), Brygmus leaves the listener in a state of terminal exhaustion, effectively capturing the vitiated or corrupted essence suggested by the album's title.