Main man and founder, Rafael Gonzalez has put together a full band after releasing the debut as a duo with bassist Robert Jarman, who is no longer a part of the band. And with members and live performers from bands like Incinerate, Godless Throne, and Noctambulist, the output is far more varied and enjoyable than the debut, which I found a bit dull.

Playing the form of brutal death metal normally released by Comatose (I actually had to check and see who the label was), Hell Inside, seems to lean a little more into the slams and slower beatdown sounds, and the slightly beefier, less clicky, lower end, production, now handled by the band, allows those moments to hit. I mean nothing on the debut hits as hard as say “I Am Hate”, “Diseased Mind”,  “Murder All”, “I am the Plague”, or “Regret”.  And honestly, nothing about the debut grabbed me, but I sure am giving Hell Inside a lot of listening time.

Of course, plenty of the material is still those blasting, Suffocation-y pinch harmonics (“I Am Hate”, “Suffocating”, “Flock of Sheep”, aptly named, furious closer “Obliterate”), that filled the debut, and are still well done. As with the debut, there are even a few short atmospheric lead-ins and fade-outs. That all said, Cordyceps just hits much harder when they slow it down.

Amid all the deathcore, every so often, Unique Leader drops a brutal death metal album just to remind us of their roots, and Hell Inside is a perfect example of that.

After the “Cursed Are They” intro,  “Parallel Dissonance” comes scorching down the runway and Rafael has putrid and filthy vocals.  They are perfect for their brand of death metal.  Very guttural and vomitrocious.  Robert’s bass guitar work is excellent and the bass features prominently on the entire album.  We get a little pinch harmonic action to slice and dice your pathetic body right down the side-giving you many problems if you try and drive a car.  The end part of the song has some more pinch harmonics and some brutal groove beat down moments.  Will cause you to swing all damn day.

The title track at just under 3 minutes has a nice mid-paced rumbling heaviness to it and some nice blast beats.  Some start n stop riffage going on and I am always a huge fan of these moments.  Nice double bass and after the groove a nice blast with a loud scream getting pumped in.  Make sure you lower the volume if listening on headphones-trust me-you will thank me later.  Again the bass guitar plucking is excellent and almost has  a Parasitic Ejaculation flair to it, since it’s so plucky and prominent in the mix.  I really dig it.

“Cesspool of the Vicious” has some very cool guitar work, in the beginning, before a monster growl and the blast beat erupts.  More clogged-sewer pipe stylized vocals and more alternating between the mid-paced moments and yes the 2.27 mark has quite a kick ass guitar riff that goes right into the slam groove.  It’s punishing.

The longest track, “Black Mass” ends the album with some nice riffing and brutal groove moments.  Punishing blast beats and more memorable riffing at the end with some more squealing 90’s era brutal pinch harmonics and then the song ends.

Cordyceps are a cool brutal death metal band and Betrayal has some catchy and memorable moments.  If you’re into brutal death metal, this is nothing you have not heard before.  The production is loud and in your face and the instruments are blended together, pretty well.  The vocals and bass guitar are featured prominently in the mix.  The vocal loudness, should have been scaled back a bit and the guitars could use a bit more bite to them, when swirling over the blast beats.  The album cover is twisted and let’s face it, in my book a brutal death metal album that has a severed head on there-well hell yeah!

I encourage you to check Cordyceps out, like their FB page and if you like good brutal death metal please buy the album and support this young upcoming band.