Ekbom syndrome (named after the Swedish neurologist Karl-Axel Ekbom) is a condition also known as parasite delusion. It is a psychotic condition in which the patient is wrongly convinced of a (subcutaneous) infection with parasites, insects, worms or other creatures. People have the feeling that bugs are crawling under the skin and visualize the insects. Often patients exhibit self-inflicted skin blemishes, such as skin excoriation, burns and scabs because they have broken the skin due to itching or in an attempt to remove the bugs from the body. Even though no one else can see the creatures, they cannot be convinced by arguments or evidence. Treatment therefore requires the intervention of medical professionals.
‘WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!’
On their new – tenth – album Ekbom, Benighted descends into the darkest, most morbid and twisted layers of the human mind. A dark insight into the world of psychoses, delusions and confusion is yours. Could singer Truchan have gained inspiration in the psychiatric institution where he works as a nurse? Leave it to the purveyors of brutal death metal and grindcore from Saint-Étienne (France) to give that bitter, bleak world a suitable musical translation. In a time span of just under 37 minutes the French foursome rushes through twelve songs. It should come as no surprise that the compositions are full of ultra-fast riffs, full-speed drums from great Kévin Paradis, epic acceleration, subtly applied restrictions and the typical pig squeals and vocal outbursts from singer Julien Truchan.
Songs such as Scars, Morgue, Ekbom, Fame Of The Grotesque, Flesh Against Flesh and Mother Earth, Mother Whore hit at full speed and are downright blood-curdlingly brutal and macabre. The lyrics which as always are in English (Scars, Flesh Against Flesh and Mother Earth, Mother Whore), then in French (Morgue, Le Vice des Entrailles, Ekbom) certainly contribute to this. ‘Forced inside this second skin. They run all over me, these creepy intruders as I drown in comfortable darkness.’ from Nothing Left To Fear and ‘Les chairs se dérobent et se consumer des reptations sous cutanées’ (‘The meat slips away and is consumed crawling under the skin’, in Ekbom) speak volumes in that respect.
‘Room 14, we have a 21-year-old woman, first hospitalization … she sees insects running on and under her skin. She tried to cut herself several times to get them out.’
In addition to the fact that Benighted has given the songs a corresponding intensity, darkness and impetuosity on Ekbom, the band knows how to interweave their in-your-face style with smart drum breaks and harmonic passages. Dropping (and slowly building up again) the intensity in Scars, holding back the guitars for a moment at the end of Ekbom, quoting a well-known quote (‘I think human consciousness is a tragic misstep in human evolution.’) by Rustin Cohle (a fictional character from the television series True Detective) and the spoken ending in Fame Of The Grotesque, the ambulance crew-call at the beginning of Mother Earth, Mother Whore…a few examples of how Benighted not only plays with dynamics but also gives the variety more than enough color to remain interesting throughout the entire length. On Nothing Left To Fear Truchan is assisted by Oliver Rae Aleron (indeed, that vocal speed devil from Archspire) and on Fame Of The Grotesque Xavier Chevalier (Blockheads) contributes. Do they really contribute something completely additional to the verbal, dogged fury that Truchan is already creating? What does it matter; the more the merrier. Right?
Be warned. Creatures may be strange to you, but that doesn’t make Ekdom any less frightening and lugubrious. Benighted‘s music is guaranteed to get deep under your skin and never let go. Get out the individual treatment plans and personal goals for rehabilitation. You can’t just get rid of this. The only question is whether you should want it?
Score:
88/100
Label:
Season Of Mist, 2024
Tracklisting:
- Prodrome
- Scars
- Morgue
- Le Vice des Entrailles
- Nothing Left To Fear
- Ekbom
- Metastasis
- A Reason For Treason
- Fame Of The Grotesque
- Scapegoat
- Flesh against Flesh
- Mother Earth, Mother Whore
Line-up:
- Julien Truchan – Vocals
- Emmanuel Dalle – Guitar
- Pierre Arnoux – Bass guitar
- Kevin Paradis – Drums
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