I don’t know what YOU expect from a project that consists of  Brian Kingsland (Nile, Enthean), bassist Alex Rush (Olkoth, Enthean), and drum legend Derek Roddy (ex-Hate Eternal, ex-Malevolent Creation, ex-Divine Empire, etc). But I know what I was expecting it to sound like, and it sounds exactly like that.

Yeah, this debut is blistering blackened black/death metal for fans of some of the projects above (namely, Olkoth) and other recent bands like label mates Black Hole Deity and Chaos Inception. But certainly fans of some of Roddy’s classic work with Council of the Fallen and Aurora Borealis, as well as other throwbacks like Internecine, Angelcorpse, and such, ring true with this short/ sharp 32-minute assault.

Other than a few surprisingly well-used clean vocals here and there on opener “Oath of Disgust”, “Iniquity”, and aptly named “Where Dead Omens Croon” (that have a nice Layne Staley hue), this is no frills, rip your face off black/death metal.

Whether it is the more early Morbid Angel, death-infused hues and lurches of “Revelation in Purity” and 7-minute closer “The Enduring Light of Irreverence”, “Iniquity” or the more blackened furor of “Exclusion Continuum” and “Spewing Retribution”, every note hits that perfect slicing, spiteful black/death metal balance with deadly precision.

A few folks might be perturbed by the clean vocals, but they are used sparingly and offset by the confident savagery and Kingsland’s razor-sharp production, where Rush’s bass is simply murderous sounding.

A required purchase for anyone who likes any of the bands mentioned above, and another stellar release from Everlasting Spew.

[Visit the band's website]

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