Pandemic Outbreak – Torment Beyond Comprehension

Hailing from the city of Gdańsk, Pandemic Outbreak is a death/thrash quartet founded in 2014. The band, comprises following four musicians; Mateusz Mencel (guitars and vocals), Mateusz Gorczyński (guitars), Michał Kotwicki (bass) and Dawid Guziałowski (drums), released two EP’s, an impressive 2021 studio debut Skulls Beneath the Cross, and a live album before the latest one entitled Torment Beyond Comprehension.

Torment Beyond Comprehension, released through Godz Ov War Productions, consists of following nine tracks:

1. Beyond My Comprehension
2. Primitive Instincts
3. Tales of the Slaughter
4. Confess Your Sins
5. Consumed by Flames
6. Skinned While Breathing
7. Left for Vultures
8. Impaled
9. Ripped into Pieces

So, what to expect if you listen to Torment Beyond Comprehension? On this new sophomore record, the band from Poland creates a pure and orthodox mix of death and thrash metal. While remaining faithful to the genre’s roots, the quartet successfully adds the elements of melodic and groovy death with a flair for technicality. In other words; the overall sound is brutal, fast and raw old-school, and when combined with an uncompromisingly heavy and a morbid/hunting atmosphere, we get a release that is almost perfect and lively.

The whole album, with playing time of just over 38-minutes, is an onslaught of brutal riffs and high energy, a sound that feels fresh yet deeply rooted in classic extreme metal. Songwriting is diverse, with each song featuring unique personalities, time and tempo changes, and a fine balance of blast beats with pummelling sections, preventing monotony. Production is equally fresh, listenable and lively, bringing out the intensity of the studio sound.

While death metal lyrics are often concerning ugly and evil things, Pandemic Outbreak to take a different direction – without repeating the typical formula of writing death metal lyrics. Therefore, each song on Torment Beyond Comprehension is meant to focus on a specific kind of suffering, delivered through different stories and rituals. The cover art is created by Dan Goldsworthy, and I like the old-school character of his work where he perfectly captured the atmosphere the band wanted to achieve, it’s simply a visual representation of band’s music.

Even if not groundbreaking, Torment Beyond Comprehension is an immersive and intense experience, and ‘a must-hear’ for death/thrash fans, considered a fantastic and solid work that stands out for its quality within the genre. Learn more on this particular album on bandcamp here, or listen to an advanced album closer, “Ripped into Pieces” via YouTube below.