Primitive Man – “Caustic” [Album Review]

An hour and twenty minutes of debasement to inform you that no matter what your goals or ambitions, they are all for naught. Give up. For those of you reading the preceding sentence with a soft smirk and a chuckle thinking it’s a catchphrase or PR ploy, it’s painfully obvious that you know nothing about this Denver-based aural nightmare. Nothing can really prepare you for the listening experience (torture to others) that lies therein, be forewarned. For those who remember the band’s P//M album from a couple years ago, then you have a good idea of what Caustic has in store. Then again, anyone unfamiliar with this group before putting on this dark opus, really has no idea what’s coming.

Primitive Man are indeed a textbook example of ‘extreme metal’. To say they fall stylistically between the likes of Khanate, Godflesh, and Eyehategod’s first album puts you in the relative ballpark of their sound. This album’s a drainer, complete and absolute; these relentless road assassins craft masterpieces of misery (shit, someone has to do it). You are to perhaps come away from the audible experience contained herein, far less of a person than you were when you started; and perhaps that’s Caustic’s intention. If so, bravo, mission accomplished and THEN some! The moniker of doom here is apt; no hope or joy, and endless despair, and these guys are experts in the field.

With “Absolutes” trailing off the end of the recording like a soundtrack befitting any modern horror, you feel like you’ve survived a traumatic experience; thusly, the band’s job done. With almost 5 years between their debut Scorn, and innumerable EPs, and thousands of miles touring the globe repeatedly, Primitive Man has had ample build-up towards crafting this leviathan. Think you’re brick enough to handle some true meat and potatoes doom – all 75 minutes plus? Guaranteed once you do, this should be in your “Best of 2017” list easy; it’s definitely on mine.

Caustic Track Listing:

01. My Will
02. Victim
03. Caustic
04. Commerce
05. Tepid
06. Ash
07. Sterility
08. Sugar Hole
09. The Weight
10. Disfigured
11. Inevitable
12. Absolutes

Run Time: 1:17:27
Release Date: October 6, 2017

Check out the single “My Will”, among a couple other songs