Angry Metal Guy<p><a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/harvested-dysthymia-review/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Harvested – Dysthymia Review</a></p><p><i>By Tyme</i></p><p>Despite a waning stigma, mental illness remains an oft-closeted topic, as those suffering from it struggle not only to cope but to discuss their struggles with others. Here to shed some of their death metal light on the matter are Canadian upstarts <strong>Harvested</strong>, with their independent debut full-length <em>Dysthymia</em>, which, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, is defined as a long-lasting form of mild depression. Touching on topics ranging from submitting to one’s long-bottled-up ‘shadow self’ (“Repressed Neurosis”) to the gluttonous way humans abuse the earth (“Unanchored”), something <strong>Harvested</strong> consider a <em>form</em> of mental illness, they’ve dialed back the lyrically gorier aspects of their eponymous 2022 EP to intensify the focus on their chosen theme. As evidenced by the beautifully rendered CJ Bertram cover art, which main guitarist Mitchi Dimitriadis says depicts ‘an individual in great mental turmoil’ and represents ‘the abstract visualization of the chaos that is the human brain,’ it’s clear that <strong>Harvested</strong> are committed to the subject. The only question left to answer is whether it’s worth reaping what <strong>Harvested</strong>’s <em>Dysthymia</em> hopes to have sown.</p><p>Nostalgically anchored in 1990s and early 2000s death metal, <strong>Harvested</strong> also incorporate modern elements of slam and tech-death into the mix to achieve <em>Dysthymia</em>’s goal. This is one brutal fucking record, and from the get, you realize Harvested aren’t messing about, as <em>Dysthymia</em> mashes the potatoes and pulls the meaty steaks off the grill, a muscle-bound manifestation of their <strong>Cannibal Corpse</strong>, <strong>Suffocation</strong>, and<strong> Deicide</strong> (“Harvested,” “The Infestation”) influences. Dimitriadis’ and Vitto Oh’s guitar harmonics are pinched harder than <span><strong>Grier</strong></span>‘s butt cheeks at an enema convention, ensorcelled by viscerally blistering riffs, technically proficient leads, and tornadic, swirling solos. Jacob Collins’ drums<a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/harvested-dysthymia-review/#fn-220096-1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">1</a> crack skulls and pummel sternums with whirling fills and destructive double-kicks while Eric Forget’s bass lines remember everything necessary to keep things rumbling along. Adam Semler’s vocals, primarily an homage to George Fisher’s chesty aggression and Glenn Benton’s demonic discernibility, also share elements with <strong>Cattle Decapitation</strong>’s Travis Ryan at his most high-pitched and raspy. For such a young band, <strong>Harvested</strong> have planted a flag on the death metal scene, and <em>Dysthymia</em> is the wind through which that flag furls, filled with exuberant, energy-filled performances and solid songwriting.</p><p></p><p>With highlights aplenty, <em>Dysthymia</em> demands attention by way of its genuine songcraft and near flawless execution. I found myself stank-faced and sweaty through many a listen, whether basking in the glow of galloping riffs and percussive bass on “Unending Madness” or taking in the detailed technicality of the <strong>Soreption</strong> and <strong>The Zenith Passage</strong> influenced “Designed Dilemma,” a song that chugs so hard through its last ninety seconds I nearly gave myself whiplash. My favorite track, “Gathered and Deluded,” is a <strong>Cattle Decapitation</strong>-tinted slammer with pinched harmonic progressions that have been living rent-free in my head for weeks as Forget’s bass marches in flurrying lockstep with Collins’ robotically precise drums, and Selmer channels his best inner Travis Ryan. <strong>Harvested</strong> is one tight-knit outfit, belying their relatively brief existence and sounding like a band that’s been together much longer.</p><p></p><p>I’d argue the efforts of <strong>Harvested</strong>’s “sixth member”<strong> </strong>deserve as much credit for the success <em>Dysthymia</em> should garner as the band themselves, and that is the excellent work Joe Lyko performed from the booth at Darkmoon Productions. Lyko’s mix and master slathers Dimitriadis’ and Oh’s guitar work in a tone that, for me, defies obvious comparison, as bright and bouncy as it is deadly and devastating. Like a calculated throat punch, it was the first thing that hit me when album opener, “Harvested,” launched, holding my rapt attention all the way through to “The Infestation,” an excellent close to <em>Dysthymia</em>’s very manageable thirty-two-minute runtime. Each instrument exists within its own space, breathing freely and intertwining with high-definition clarity, thereby topping this auditorily successful sundae with a big, fat, juicy cherry.</p><p>Lyrically poignant, brutally heavy, and bursting with engagingly twisted, hook-filled instrumentation, <em>Dysthymia</em> is a helluva debut, and one <strong>Harvested</strong> should be proud of. As poetically as I have waxed, I still believe there’s room for <strong>Harvested</strong> to grow. God help those who might lay their ears on a sophomore effort from this line-up, should they remain intact. Rest assured, I’ll definitely be watching and waiting. For now, however, I wholeheartedly recommend you spend some long-lasting, quality time with <em>Dysthymia</em>.</p> <p><strong>Rating</strong>: 3.5 / 5.0<br><strong>DR</strong>: 7 | <strong>Format Reviewed</strong>: 320kbps mp3<br><strong>Label</strong>: Self-Released<br><strong>Websites</strong>: <a href="https://harvested.bandcamp.com/album/dysthymia" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/harvested666/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/harvestedband/?hl=en" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Instagram </a><br><strong>Releases Worldwide</strong>: August 1st, 2025</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/2025/" target="_blank">#2025</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/35/" target="_blank">#35</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/aug25/" target="_blank">#Aug25</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/canadian-metal/" target="_blank">#CanadianMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/cannibal-corpse/" target="_blank">#CannibalCorpse</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/cattle-decapitation/" target="_blank">#CattleDecapitation</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/death-metal/" target="_blank">#DeathMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/deicide/" target="_blank">#Deicide</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/dysthymia/" target="_blank">#Dysthymia</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/harvested/" target="_blank">#Harvested</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/independent/" target="_blank">#Independent</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/review/" target="_blank">#Review</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/soreption/" target="_blank">#Soreption</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/suffocation/" target="_blank">#Suffocation</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/technical-death-metal/" target="_blank">#TechnicalDeathMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/the-zenith-process/" target="_blank">#TheZenithProcess</a></p>