Living Gate - Suffer As One

 

This is a crusher. When I first found out about Living Gate I was stoked. It's a death metal band featuring members of Yob, Amenra, Oathbreaker and Wiegedood. For a certain type of fan this is an extremely big deal. I am that type of fan. Suffer As One is an impressive and gnarled release. This is an incredibly tight death metal album very much in the vein of stuff like Gorguts. It's technical, tightly written and endlessly exciting. These aren't songs for the faint of heart but rather those of us who really want to dig into punishingly pointed death metal insanity. 

Suffer As One is a dense release. It's a record without a wasted note, and yet within there is a maelstrom of sound, every note getting more and more crippling and unforgiving. This is what death metal is done right, where it's twisted, high powered and decidedly underground. It's incredibly satisfying to have a record that feels so intensely introverted and uncompromising. Unlike most supergroups this project isn't worried about winking back at the band members main projects. It's about creating art that is bitter, unrelenting and determined to rip your goddamn face off. Angular, muscular and simply unapologetic, Suffer As One is exactly the sort of grime you love. 

Living Gate have crafted something demented here and it's hard not to be enamored with what they have granted us. This is death metal that goes for the throat and drinks your blood. It's death metal that isn't afraid to show the world exactly how twisted this music can be when done right. It's death metal that leaves you begging for more. I desperately hope this isn't a one off project but rather one that leans into the abyss that the members have created, something tells me there is so much delectable darkness to come. 

Pre-order the album! 

https://livinggate.bandcamp.com/album/suffer-as-one

Molder - Catastrophic Reconfiguration

Ok - this might be some of the best old school Death worship that I have heard in a long time. If you told me that the songs off of Molder's new album, Catastrophic Reconfiguration were long lost Leprosy era Death b sides I'd almost believe you. While Molder certainly do have a few modern fringes, it's the old school vibes that really help to make them such a special band. These guys execute on their classic sound with aplomb and it's hard not to have a blast as they go rip roaring through your imagination with rager after rager. 

 What's refreshing about this album is that Molder have worked hard to craft well written songs. There are big choruses, exciting climaxes and flashy solos that drive the whole thing forward. Rather than leaning into the contemporary death metal tendency to kind of beat you over the head with riffs and brutality, Molder pull back on the heaviness in order to unleash something that is crushing in its own right. This is death metal delivered on a different pace and in a different way from so many of the bands peers and the end result will leave you gasping for air.

Catastrophic Reconfiguration is the sound of a band unveiling endless and relentless crushing filth. It's death metal done right in the grand old style with plenty of moments to get you raising your fist and banging your head. If you like Death, then this is going to be your album. (Also puns, "Nothing Left To Ooze" is a god tier death metal song title.) Grab this thing when hits shelves in just under a month. It's a ripper. 

Pre-order the album here: 

Ripped To Shreds - Sanshi

 

 Sometimes there are albums and sometimes... there are albums. Ripped To Shreds is a band who have been setting fire to the US death metal scene for a few years now and it feels like on Sanshi their 4th full length in 6 years, the band has been able to take things to a whole new level. This is wonderfully intense, unrelenting and fascinating death metal done right. Ripped To Shreds have a vibe that is wholly their own, fusing razor sharp Jesse Pintado style riffs with flashy solos and technical riffs, giving them a vision that is wholly their own. 

In some ways Ripped To Shreds remind me of a young Revocation, or even Horrendous. These are songs where the shredding is definitely very important but where the band doesn't loose sight of knuckle dragging Entombed-worshipping riffs. The end result is a surprisingly delicious combination of sounds that goes for the throat and isn't afraid to force listeners to choke on unrelenting, primitive and all out destructive riffs. There is a sense of unrelenting, tightly controlled chaos that makes Ripped To Shreds endlessly addictive. This element has always been present in Ripped To Shreds music, but in Sanshi they bring the musicality to the fore to create something bombastic and thrilling. 

Sanshi is an unapologetic record, and a record that has high replay value. These riffs don't so much beat you over the head with technicality as much as surprise you as you enjoy the tight songwriting. The angular playing and blasting assault is addictive and indicative of just how good this band is. They've distilled their influences into something that feels greater than the sum of its parts. In recent years metal has started to turn back towards its need for guitar heroes, and Ripped To Shreds are leading the charge, taking no prisoners. 

Pre-order the album! 

https://rippedtoshredsdeathmetal.bandcamp.com/album/sanshi

Sentient Horror - In Service of the Dead

 

Sentient Horror have long been one of my favorite American death metal bands. Their music is intense, technical without being overtly cerebral and has some punishing hooks. It's death metal done right, with a healthy worship of old school stuff without ever trying to be too aggressively aping any one band. Instead what Sentient Horror do on In Service Of The Dead is continue to refine and perfect their sound. They take the mayhem to a bold new level here and prove once again that they are one of the best New Jersey metal exports ever. 

Four albums in, Sentient Horror's sound has been refined to something clearly delectable and wonderfully evil. In Service Of The Dead sees the band putting a sheen on their trademark intensity and guitar acrobatics to make it into something that encapsulates so much of what makes the modern scene great whilst maintaining their underground magic. There is some serious guitar sorcery on this record and the songwriting is tighter than ever. Nothing about In Service Of The Dead drags. Instead this is an album that hits you with riff after riff, elegantly presented and devastatingly broadcast in a way that will have you clawing at your eyes. 

Suffice it to say - Sentient Horror have once more proven they are among the best of the best. With 2022's Rites Of Gore they locked in their place as an underground favorite. With this album they prove they have the staying power to consistently leave listeners in awe, and it leaves me desperately curious to hear what other mayhem that Sentient Horror are going to be unleashing in the next few years.

Pre-order the album! 

https://sentienthorror.bandcamp.com/album/in-service-of-the-dead

Nails - Every Bridge Burning

 

The new Nails is in my inbox and it is GOOD. Every Bridge Burning is the bands first new album in eight years and it is a crusher in every sense of the world. The band who left us in awe with their heaviness on Unsilent Death and Abandon All Life has reached a new level. As much as I think the world was impressed by You Will Never Be One Of Us, this new record sees the band ratcheting up to a devastating new level. This is some of the most intense, personal and soul crushing music of Nails' career and it's impossible not to be enamored with it. 

There is something deliciously devastating to this record. Song titles like "Lacking The Ability To Process Empathy" and "I Can't Turn It Off" give you an immediate sense of what this record is about and how punishing it gets. This is the sound of every dark feeling you've had at once boiling to the top and tearing heads off. Every Bridge Burning has it all, the unrepentant heaviness of the first two records and the polish of You Will Never Be One Of Us. With that - they find a way to transcend all that they have done in the past and leave me in awe of what's to come. 

This record clocks in at just under 18 minutes, and every second of it is filled with chaotic, unyielding and crippling fucking heaviness. There is no other path forward from this, no sense of hope, just pure crushing despair, and it only gets more nightmarish as you delve deeper into the record. By the time you get to the album closer, "No More Rivers To Cross" which weighs in at a lengths 3:14, you've been beaten over the head and left to die. The final song is just a kick in the ribs. Suffice it to say - this record rules, there's no other way to say it. 

Pre-order the album: 

http://nailsmerch.com/

Fulci - Duck Face Killings

 

Is Fulci the best death metal band to ever emerge from Italy? Quite possibly yes. And their latest album, Duck Face Killings only adds to this legacy of brutality. Inspired by The New York Ripper one of Lucio Fulci's most depraved films, Duck Face Killings is an absolute tour de force. It sees Fulci leaning into all the things that make them special, from guttural vocals, devastating slamming riffs and tightly controlled rhythms to the eerie horror inspired synth interludes that help to give the album so much of its flavor and vision. 

In many ways Duck Face Killings is the platonic ideal of a horror inspired death metal record. It perfectly captures the grinding, punishing magic of horror films and intricately weaves together punishing vibes with devilish songwriting in order to draw listeners deep in across its 14 tracks. It's been 3 long years since the last proper full length from Fulci and it's clear that Duck Face Killings is in many ways the pinnacle of their oeuvre. It sees the band elegantly building on past successes and pointing towards an ambitious, twisted future.

Pre-order the album! 

https://20buckspin.bandcamp.com/album/duck-face-killings

Necrocene - Detrimental Paratomy

 

This is a rager. Necrocene are playing 90s style death metal with a clear love for bands like Entombed, Death and Sepultura. Their new EP, Detrimental Paratomy, is a ton of fun for fans of the underground obsessed with these sounds. The overarching vintage vibe of the music means this isn't for everyone, but for those of us who truly love old school death metal, Necrocene are a breath of fresh air. This is an EP that leans into so many of the genres tropes and executes on them with aplomb. While Necrocene certainly aren't reinventing the steel, what they are doing is delivering perfectly delectable death metal. Get ready for the mayhem, because with angular guitars, brutarian stomps and hectic mid tempo drums, Necrocene prove they can hang with the best of them on Detrimental Paratomy. 

Pre-order the album! 

https://personal-records.bandcamp.com/album/detrimental-paratomy

Terminal Nation - Echoes Of The Devil's Den

 

Every once in a while a record hits your inbox that makes you go 'Holy shit, this is the next level.' Echoes Of The Devil's Den is one such record. This is the sound of a band coming into their own, reaching a higher place and proving that they are among the modern greats. Such is the enduring power of Terminal Nation's new album. This is a record that showcases a band at the height of their abilities unleashing hell and proving that they have what it takes to stand shuolder to shoulder with some of the best bands in the underground today. 

Terminal Nation impress on this album because of their ability to take their core death metal sound and push it to all sorts of weird extremes. The band clearly knows how to fucking riff though, and this is the core of everything they do. The punishing assault on a track like "Empire In Decay" is addictive. Meanwhile you gotta love the ability to surprise listeners, as they do with the ballad-esque "Merchants Of Bloodshed" which features none other than Killswitch Engage vocalist Jesse Leach. Echoes Of The Devil's Den builds on so much of the early promise of Terminal Nation and seems to hint at so much more to come from the band. 

Echoes Of The Devil's Den is a skull cracker. It's a record that seems to consistently push above and beyond and which reminds listeners time and time again just how special Terminal Nation are as a band. The guys in this band are supremely talented ,and it feels good to see, that after years of hard work they are finally starting to have a moment. I suspect that Echoes Of The Devil's Den is going to feature prominently on year end lists especially among the Decibel reading set. Be sure to get in on this band before they blow up harder.

Pre-order the album! 

https://terminalnationhc.bandcamp.com/

Mutilation Barbecue - Amalgamations Of Gore

Now this is an album that fucking crushes. Amalgamations Of Gore is Mutilation Barbecue doing what they do best, unleashing raw, uncompromising hell at a million miles an hour. This is an album that builds on the bands back catalog, driving forward with some of their most engaging writing to date. Yes Mutilation Barbecue are in some ways the apotheosis of Maggot Stomp core but they're fucking awesome because of it and it's hard not to be enamored with the charismatic delivery and unrelenting sonic assault that sculpts so much of what Mutilation Barbecue do.

Despite the brutality, there are some surprisingly melodic moments on Amalgamations Of Gore. Tracks like "Auto Anthrophagy" have a deepset sense of self that makes them immediately engaging, powerful and addictive. It's hard not to be enamored with a band who understand the depths of the music like this. Mutilation Barbecue are a one of a kind force in the underground and there is something to be said for the unrelenting gut punch that is this album. The band has really managed to hone their craft on this one and turn it into something next level. 

Mosh worthy, brilliant and delightfully twisted, Mutilation Barbecue prove once again that they are a one of a kind force in the underground, goofy name aside. It's rare you find a group with this same deep understanding of the craft especially this early on in their careers. But everything on this record from the raw snare to the breakneck rhythms speaks to a group raised in death metal basement shows and distilling that experience into something wonderfully sick. You need this chaos and terror resonating through your life.

Pre-order the album!

https://mutilationbarbecue-maggotstomp.bandcamp.com/album/amalgamations-of-gore

Slimelord - Chytridiomycosis Relinquished

 

After years of EP's, Slimelord are finally here with their monolithic, incredibly dense debut full length, Chytridiomycosis Relinquished. (Try saying that 3 times fast!) This is punishing, unrelenting and ceaselessly addictive death metal reminiscent of the super dense ministrations of bands like Gorguts or Worm. This record is intense and difficult, but for those of us who really get what this sort of death metal was meant to be about in the first place, Chytridiomycosis Relinquished is a potent offering and one that I think many will be circling back too on their year end lists. 

The compelling thing about Slimelord's work is their ability to combine utterly primal death grunts and breakdowns with much more technical thoughtful playing. These aren't accessible songs, rather they are devastating explorations of the darkest sides of the musical spectrum. The band has clearly put years of work into executing this at the highest possible level. This release has a level of intensity and depth not heard on the previous EP's. Rather it shows us a band who have dug deep within themselves to find a record that is punishingly, and bizarrely heavy. There is something otherworldly about the crushing assault they unveil here. 

Chytridiomycosis Relinquished is a crusher. It's not an easy to understand crusher, but it's a crusher nonetheless. Slimelord understand what it means to create truly pulverizing death metal, and Chytridiomycosis Relinquished is exactly that. It's a record that is going to alienate many and indoctrinate the chosen few. It's a record that leans into brutality but finds ways to balance it with more thoughtful explorations. The gaping maw of this album is hard not to be in love with if you're a death metal devotee. 

Pre-order the album!

https://slimelord.bandcamp.com/album/chytridiomycosis-relinquished

Tombstoner - Rot Stink Rip

 

Now this is a ripper. For those in the know, Tombstoner have been a rapidly rising force in the world of underground death metal for years now. But it's with their new album Rot Stink Rip (Helluva name for a record don't ya think?) that the band seems to really have found their voice and found a way to differentiate themselves from a legion of posers. Instead they sally forth with crushing fucking riffs, punishing rhythms and an unrelenting sonic assault that is guaranteed to keep you coming back for much more. 

Rot Stink Rip excels with its punishing grooves and the overarching vision behind the record. Opting for less intense growls and more accessible grooves, Rot stink Rip sees the band creating something that is anthemic and exciting, a far cry from many of the hardcore turned death metal bands you see dominating the scene today. Instead Tombstoner emphasize something that feels like it owes more to Pantera than Obituary. The end result though is absolutely sick, addictively listenable and full of circle pit stomping riffs. This is obsessive, unrelenting and crippling death metal, music to get you going crazy and jumping off of stages. 

Tombstoner are a veritable force in the underground and their crippling, unrelenting assault is a hell of a lot of fun. This is a record that sees Tombstoner capable of making a larger jump into something greater. Rot Stink Rip is a seemingly unparalleled and wonderfully exciting release. It's a record that spurs constant chaos and devastating performances. Rot Stink Rip is a one of a kind force, a potent next step for the band and a zombie obsessed good time for death metal fans of all stripes. It's another win for Redefining Darkness Records too - pre-order this one!

Pre-order the album! 

https://tombstoner-us.bandcamp.com/album/victims-of-vile-torture

Brat - Social Grace

 

Few bands have made as big a splash on the American scene in the past 18 months as Brat. Seemingly right out of the pandemic the band hit the road like mad, playing shows all over the place and impressing listeners with intense performances and a bimboviolence aesthetic that's generated more than their fair share of controversy. Their debut full length, Social Grace captures that selfsame intensity and is sure to have fans thrilled for the next chapter of violence to come from these devotees of a new brand of American metal. 

Social Grace shines because of the unrelenting nature of the songwriting and the manic energy behind the music. Sonically the band is playing the same blend of death metal and hardcore tat helped to define their debut EP, it's potent stuff filled with punchy, angular riffs, brutal vocals and two step worthy breakdowns. Brat have taken some of the elments that helped to define their core sound and refining them into something all the more intense and delectable. While Liz Selfish is certainly the frontperson, having backing vocals on tracks like "Snifter" provides a strong interplay, one of the musical highlights of the album. 

Brat are a band on a mission and their approach has been unrelentingly addictive. They had a big challenge ahead of them when recording this record, to craft something that matches their already quasi-legendary reputation as a live act. Fortunately it seems that they have found a way to distill that energy down into something potent, refreshing and endlessly exciting. Social Grace is the sort of explosion of energy that helps to make this music so driving in the first place. Immersing yourself in the madness is a delight. 

Pre-order the album! 

https://brat504.bandcamp.com/album/social-grace-2

Hadit - Metaphysical Engines Approaching The Event Horizon

 

Metaphysical Engines Approaching The Event Horizon is an impressive new death metal offering from Italian death metal masters Hadit. Now on their second full length the band has found a way to take their twisted brand of death metal to even further sonic horizons. There is something undeniable about the obscure, dense and potent songwriting of Hadit. This is a record that will alienate all but the most devoted, but for those of us who love gnarled, unusual and always surprising death metal, Hadit is a record that stands apart and which consistently hints at how much more this band could be. 

The density of these compositions is impressive and strangely addictive. Tracks like "Interstellar Mediums Rhapsody" brook no room for posers and revel in the intensity of the composition and the intricacy of the composition. These are works that challenge the listener and guide them towards ever darker sonic pastures. It's hard not to be enamored with the vision they present and the unique soundworlds they've crafted that will bring listeners back in time and time again. Metaphysical Engines Approaching The Event Horizon shines because of its darkness. These songs are enshrouded in dense, unforgivably complex riffs and that's exactly what makes them so fascinating. To listen to this record is to stare into the void and have it stare back at you. 

Hadit have found a path that is wholly their own and their willingness to craft unforgiving, strange and otherworldly death metal is certain to entrance those of us who find this genre best when it's at it's most off kilter. In many ways this is the typical I, Voidhanger Records release, it's challenging, off balance and guaranteed to leave listeners in awe of what more is to come. The sonic opportunities for Hadit after Metaphysical Engines Approaching The Event Horizon are wide open and I'm so curious to see how they pursue them! 

Pre-order the album!

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/metaphysical-engines-approaching-the-event-horizon

Wasted Death - Season Of Evil

 

Chaotic, hellish and wonderfully over the top Wasted Death capture the magic of death metal chaos on their new album, Season Of Evil. This is a record that leans into so many classic death metal tropes from the cover art to the production by way of the chainsaw guitars and incredibly manic, almost tortured vocals. It's counterbalanced though with some interesting sludge elements reminiscent of acts like Melvins. The wall of sound that beats you over the head with every minute of this record is delectable and the short songs keep you coming back curious for more. Wasted Death have a clear obsession with old school death metal and the end result is a wonderfully raw, weird and pummeling sonic assault. 

Season Of Evil is a crusher, make no bones about it. It's hard not to be thrilled with the unending madness that they bring out time and time again. This is a fun record to be sure, but also one that can still impress with the legion of riffs and some of the atmospheres the band creates. Wasted Death find a truly exciting and very fun balance between old school death metal ferocity with sprinkles of sludge and stoner metal done in such a way that Season Of Evil certainly merits repeat listens. Dive in soon for yourself when it drops March 15th!

Pre-order the album! 

https://apfrecords.co.uk/albums/season-of-evil

Dipygus - S/T

 

There is something to be said for truly wicked, twisted and heavy bottom scraping death metal. Such is the magic of Dipygus. Their new self titled album is an absolute monsterpiece, a crushing record that revels in all of the death metal dungeon wizardry. This is a record that consistently speaks to the triumphant evil of the underground and which makes it hard to look away from. This is a triumphant and hectic car crash of a release, a record that indulges in its misery and seems to only push for every darker sonic pastures. There is no sense of higher artistry here, only crushing death metal riff after crushing death metal riff, slowly choking you out.

Dipygus is not for the faint of heart, it's gut grinding death metal of the filthiest degree. Their is something wonderfully vintage about what Dipygus does here. Their obsession with grinding nineties death metal is hard to deny and it speaks to the crippling power of what they consistently unveil. While the sound is certainly alienating for those not already possessed with a morbid fascination with death, Dipygus is just what the doctor ordered for those of us who are constantly searching for this kind of primitive grinding death metal. Malodorous and retro, Dipygus make no pretense, this is crusty, basement banished death metal that only the obsessed will love, but by god will we love it! 

Pre-order the album!

https://dipygus.bandcamp.com/

Pestilength - Solar Clorex

 

Pestilength is an absolute monster of a band. They've been on my radar for a few years, but this latest offering, Solar Clorex is an absolute crusher of avantgarde, ugly and oppressive death metal. Caveman-esque and unapologetically brutal, Pestilength have found a way to define themselves by their ugliness. Pestilength fascinate because of their ability to unleash unholy and strange sonic carnage, to force fans to choke on the bitter pill of their unreality and allow listeners to really seep into the disgusting soundscapes that they have created for us to navigate. 

On some level Pestilength seems to have more in common with a band like Swans than they do other death metal acts. Tracks like "Enthronos Wormwomb" with its sparkling clean guitars counterbalanced by gurgling vocals are a great example of this. Pestilength are a band who lean into creating music that feels truly disgusting and which consistently seems to hint at ever more depraved and twisted realities, dragging listeners in to the dark and forcing them to come to terms with the disgusting monolith of their own humanity. In other words - even in forcing the boundaries of death metal to their extreme, Pestilength find new ways to fulfill death metals core vision. 

Solar Clorex is a wonderfully compelling album and one that I think will consistently entrance listeners as they explore the myriad and twisted layers that help to define this band. Pestilength are visionaries of a strange and twisted new breed of the underground and it is far too much fun to let yourself get lost in their visions. This is death metal done right,with a vision of a tortured future that is going to keep you undeniably entranced and enthralled with the broken, bitter visions of a band who seem to be an abomination against God. 

Pre-order the album!

https://pestilength.bandcamp.com/album/solar-clorex

Mutilated By Zombies - Scenes From The Afterlife

 

Those of us who have been doing this for a while remember the murky days of 2018 when Mutilated By Zombies released their last full length. Now the band is back with the wonderfully brutal and uncompromising Scenes From The Afterlife. This is death metal done right, unrepentant in its trademark stomp and eager to crack the skulls of the posers who might deny them their birthright. Now after nearly twenty years as a band Mutilated by Zombies are putting out some of their best work to date, thrilling death metal fans of all stripes. 

I think what gets me about Mutilated By Zombies is the brutarian nature of the playing. Tracks like "Gutsplit" are larger than life and seem to reflect a different more twisted side of the band. It's hard to deny yourself the riffy magic of these songs, with acrobatic playing making "Decontamination" one of the most addictive songs on the record. Scenes From The Afterlife is a chaotic and at times terrifying listen. The band has nicely distilled so many of the elements that serve to make death metal compelling and the end result is 9 tracks of unrelenting heavy metal violence.

Pre-order the album!

https://mutilatedbyzombies.bandcamp.com/album/scenes-from-the-afterlife

Petrification - Sever Sacred Light

 

This is a fucking crusher. Petrification first came across my radar a few years ago as emanations from the Portland scene informed me that a truly great new death metal band had joined the ranks. When I eventually listened to Petrification I was not disappointed. This is death metal done right, completely crushing, uncompromisingly heavy and with angular, brutarian riffs that were to die for. It's exactly what death metal has always been meant to be and it's hard not to be enamored with the clarity of vision and distinctive stomp that has come to define Petrification. 

Sever Sacred Light is exciting because of the pointed nature of the songs. Sever Sacred Light is not an album for first timers. Instead it's a multi faceted and deep listening experience that I think fans of the underground are going to find themselves consistently drawn back too. Petrification may have spent five years crafting this album, but those countless hours were well spent. The end result is a record that is wholly distinctive and wonderfully powerful, a record that is driving and compelling, no matter how you slice it. It's an album borne from the underground, for the underground, with no compromises, and by god is it addictive. 

Petrification are wholly undeniable. If you're a fan of underground death metal then you're going to find something to lover within Sever Sacred Light. The riffs are absolutely monstrous and the production gives the whole thing a much larger than life aspect. It's hard not to really lose yourself in the bleak sorcery and unapologetic crushing visions that define Petrification's music. I can see this record being a sleeper favorite for countless fans across the underground. It has high replay value and a distinctly rewarding flavor. Give it a spin.

Pre-order the album!

https://www.svartrecords.com/en/product/petrification-sever-sacred-light/11973

Dripping Decay - Ripping Remains

 

It's been a good couple of years for death metal. Tons of sick bands seem to be bursting onto our radar every week. Such is the case with Portland's brand new hellcats Dripping Decay. Their debut EP Ripping Remains is barely a quarter of an hour long, but it's a rager full of sick, old school death metal riffs and bizarrely charming gutturals. This is death metal done right, with a lust for blood and the desire to crack skulls. 

There is something wonderfully sickening about Dripping Decay's compositions here. They clearly understand what makes death metal so compelling in the first place. This is an underground death metal album for underground death metal nerds, hell, they even include a Halloween cover! Dripping Decay understand what it means to unveil gurgling gore, and if you're as obsessed with this stuff as I am you're going to fall in love. 

Pre-order the album! 

https://drippingdecay.bandcamp.com/album/ripping-remains

Cruciamentum - Obsidian Refractions

 

Few albums are more hotly anticipated this year than Cruciamentum's Obsidian Refractions. The band has built a cult following based on the strength of a handful of EP's, plus 2015's debut full length Charnel Passages. This record follows in the path laid by their previous work, it's crushingly heavy, riffy and enthusiastically delivered death metal that touches on so many elements that make the current wave of the genre so exciting. In so many ways they presaged it, and now they return with their first new material in 6 years to prove they have perfected it. 

Obsidian Refractions impresses because of the breadth of the work. This is death metal that feels larger than life and which consistently seems to put the band a head and shoulders above their peers. It's rare that you find a death metal band who can pull off a ten minute song convincingly, yet when Cruciamentum close out the album with the epic "Drowned" they do exactly that, and with aplomb. It's an epic record and one that as you gaze into its multi faceted layers seems like a sort of hell you can never escape from. That's exactly what makes the thing so damn compelling. It's death metal to consistently tear your sanity apart. 

Cruciamentum have proven once more that they deserve their indelible part of the death metal antheon. While it always feels like we have to wait an excruciating amount of time between releases it's because these guys are simply among the best to ever do it. Obsidian Refractions is a crusher, a record that highlights so much of what death metal is, and always should be. Letting yourself get immersed in this hellstorm is a delight and one that I think will keep devout fans coming back, as they should, to these underground masters.

Pre-order the album!

https://cruciamentum.bandcamp.com/album/obsidian-refractions