Similar Artists:
Cenotaph is a Turkish brutal/slam death metal band formed in 1993. Despite having never been signed to any major labels and receiving little promotion, they have worked their way up to becoming a fairly recognizable name and are one of the very few death metal acts from West Asia and the Middle East to achieve notable success.
Their sound is characterized by a mix of slamming groove sections and relentless blast beat passages topped off with the often nearly subsonically low guttural vocals of singer Batu Cetin, who is also the driving force of the group and the only original member remaining. As of 2021, they have released 7 studio albums.
Not to be confused with the lesser known but more influential Mexican band of the same name.
Main Discography:
- Voluptuously Minced (1996)
- Puked Genital Purulency (1999)
- Pseudo Verminal Cadaverium (2003)
- Reincarnated in Gorextasy (2007)
- Putrescent Infectious Rabidity (2010)
- Perverse Dehumanized Dysfunctions (2017)
- Precognition to Eradicate (2021)
Cenotaph and their music provide examples of the following tropes:
- Concept Album: Precognition to Eradicate tells the story of a surreal dystopia run rampant by extraterrestrial beings.
- Gorn: Pretty much their sole lyrical theme, and in the most excruciating detail possible if you read their lyrics.
- I Am the Band: Batu Cetin is the sole original member of the band.
- Indecipherable Lyrics: Even by brutal death metal standards, as Batu's vocals are among the most inhuman sounding in the entire genre, like a near-constant squawk pitched down to the lowest level possible, even giving Antti Boman a run for his money - Phlegeton is probably his closest comparison. This is invoked, as they have stated that lyrics are an afterthought for them.
- Slam Death Metal: One of the earliest bands in the genre, though they aren't a full-fledged example. Batu says they "ride the line" between slamming brutal death and standard brutal death.
- Technical Death Metal: Some of their more complex tracks enter brutal tech territory.
- Teen Genius: The band members were still in high school upon their formation, and Batu had only recently turned 19 upon the release of their first album. Especially notable given that they possessed a fair amount of technical skill even back then.
