Mastering the Disease is the band’s fourth album, and Stephen Reichelt once again joins in on bass guitar. We also get guest vocals from James Lee (Face of Oblivion/Pathology) on the song “Blood Prints” and Danny Lawson (Usurper) for “Pupils of Insularity”. The band was looking for a drummer who could capture Paul’s latest and greatest vision, and for this album, enter none other than Marco Pitruzzella (Six Feet Under, Anomalous, Sleep Terror, ex-Vile, ex-The Faceless, ex-Brain Drill). Marco had a good ‘ole rock n rolling fun time recording the newest Six Feet Under. Now was he able to let loose like his gravity blasting bad ass self-did with Brain Drill? No. Did Paul unleash the beast that is Marco, on this latest album? You bet your ass he did!

“Swelling Revulsion” starts things off with a little feedback, then with some maniacal start and stop drumming and Paul screaming his head off. All nice and fun until the 34-second moment. Gravity blasts, gravity blasts, gravity blasts. I will go on record as saying these are the fastest gravities I have ever heard. Faster than Brain Drill. Faster than Origin and faster than Rings of Saturn. Out of control. I was just mentioning to Paul recently that gravity blasts have gone away, and I was happy to hear them return. I just was not prepared for this onslaught. Towards the end of the song, it’s nice to hear some bass guitar strumming, which is heard throughout the release.

The title track is next. Beginning soft and quiet until the maniacal drumming returns. Fast, Faster, Fastest, than onto inhuman capabilities. More of the isolated drumming around the 1.15 mark, where it’s a fast double pounding method, is mixed in perfectly as the guitars take a back seat. Ferocious. The song slows down, and bass guitar plucking is ever-present, as the guitars take on a dissonance, not unlike that of Ulcerate. Paul has played around with dissonance before, with elements containing some later era Brutal Truth with discordant riffage and noises. The slow moments take on an almost drone-like, doomy sound. The speed returns with some weird-ass guitar soloing with terrific alternating vocals. The gravity blasting returns, and even I get tired from all the air drumming I am doing during the speedy parts.

“The Gnashing of False Teeth” has a damn good bass guitar intro and this moment resembles Godflesh. Yeah, Paul, I picked that out fast. Paul is a huge Godlfesh fan, like me. Think of Godflesh doing their doomy, depressive, discordant moments. That is what we have going on here. This is a good breather and you can feel Marco is like, Paul, come on bruh, let me loose again. The doomy drone effect erupts into a gravity blast around the 2.25 section and I swear they are even faster than the previous gravities and they go on for quite some time. Some ethereal, behind-the-scenes types of screaming than growls coming in. The abrupt speed of so slow to ungodly lightning speed, is so much fun!

“Depersonalized Realization” gets into some double pounding speed early on and varying degrees of vocalizations. The slow doomy dissonance is ever present and there are a lot of nods to Carbonized on this album. Just weird spastic blasting, weird noises, non-linear chords being strummed. This song is another example of the weirdness that is inside Gillis’ musical brain. The album, as a whole, is akin to watching the weird ass movie and one of my faves, Being John Malkovitch.

Mastering the Disease is an inhumanely creative and experimental journey into grind, doom, industrial, death metal and technical death metal. Morgue Supplier is not an easy band to just headbang to. It’s like thinking man’s metal. Paul pushes the boundaries and definitely getting Marco has been a huge advantage in this album. There are a few production, mastering issues. Songs will end with several seconds of silence before a song begins or a song will take several seconds to begin, when it’s just silence.

The production is good, however, there is no real bottom end, therefore this is very trebly sounding. The album cover is most excellent and goes wonderfully with this over-the-top sounding album. Because I listen to a lot of weird shit I really dig this album. I commend Paul for pushing the boundaries of extreme metal and also experimenting even more on his craft. This album will force you to consider, what is extreme? Utterly monstrous!!

The band has been a tear of touring multiple times a year in North America and overseas. The band proudly wears the Bolt Thrower influence on their sleeves, and now, with album number three, No Place of Warmth, the band wears that influence from head to toe. The band has opted for an even more bombastic and fuller sound, and this creates an avalanche of heaviness. 11 songs in 35 minutes, and the songs pack a wallop.

Opening with the title track, the band opts to have a guest vocalist – Gerard Way, from My Chemical Romance. An interesting choice. Beginning with an atmospheric and epic buildup, you immediately feel those drums in your chest. The Bolt Thrower vibe takes us to the Warmaster sound. Punishing double bass and tank-driven heaviness, this folks is the closest you will ever get to a new Bolt Thrower record. This mid-paced song is vicious, as well as those guitar solos, calling to mind 1991. Chad Green’s gruff style harnesses the power of Karl from BT, and if you close your eyes you might think Karl is singing. Why Frozen Soul has not had him guest on their albums is beyond me. Gerard comes in towards the end of the song and his style actually flows pretty well.

The title track is a good opener, but it’s bested by the best song the band has ever written, the next song. “Invoke War”. This is the perfect song to do my Anatomy of a Song on. Robb Flynn from Machine Head/ex Vio-Lence fame guests on this song and I will just mention his part fits like a glove and he sounds amazing and pissed off. So this tune starts with the song title being belted out by Chad. The drum buildup, with the vocals, and song getting heavier, gets right into the Holy Shit moment when after Chad’s growl, he is briefly isolated, as he once again growls ‘I Invoke War’, at the 36 second mark. The bludgeoning heaviness erupting sends frozen chills down my soul every time I hear this. He sings the part a few more times, but I am telling you, this mid-paced rumbling, is going to cause sinkhole pits nationwide. Maybe it will lower the gas process, perhaps? The song gallops a bit and then the isolated moment and drums create the perfect part for Flynn’s vox then the duet of ‘I Invoke War’ is belted out. Monstrously heavy and kick ass. I am telling the band-you may want to put this song in the middle of the live set. Not in the beginning – it will wear out the crowd. This song demolishes and Samantha’s bass guitar crushes during these moments.

Devin Swank from Sanguisugabogg has a ‘Bogg like song to lend his guest spot to, with “Dreadnought”. I have nicknamed this song FrozenBogg. It has the caveman-like knuckle-dragging heft of Sanguisugabogg, and Swank’s vocals are perfect, as the ever-present bass guitar seems to be even heavier on this song. This is yet another killer song.

The one thing I will mention is that the guest vocal spots are within the first four songs. I think the band should have placed one towards the end of the album, because the album is so heavily front-loaded with these song placements. Just my wooden nickels’ advice.

“Ethereal Dreams” brings in some speed. Galloping heaviness and old school at the same time. There are some nods to the Mercenary era Bolt Thrower sound at the end of this song, and once again, the song structure is pretty strong.

“Killin’ Time (Until It’s Time to Kill)” ends the album and kinda rocks along in a hoppy fashion. Heavy, but it’s a fun, happy tune, IMO, until the crushing heaviness at the 40-second marker. Devastating. There’s even some isolated bass guitar moments, which are excellent. By the way, do not snooze on “Deathweaver”. A most excellent song that enters the doom/death genre.

Michael Munday and Chris Bonner upped their game with their guitar sound and riffing. Song after song has riff after riff and are catchier than the next. The pounding drums of Matt Dennard need to be mentioned, as his steady play and crushing double bass help elevate this album

No Place of Warmth sounds terrific, has amazing songs, and has that dense tank-like heaviness that will go over even better live. How they top this album is beyond me, but Frozen Soul, continues to crush and only a matter of time before we see the band headlining full fledged tours.

Guitarists Terrell Grannum, Rick Habeeb, and vocalist Will Smith, all welcome in new members, Hudson Barth on drums and TJ Coon on bass. Now, while I could make out some of the Monet inspired album art from the debut album, don’t even begin to ask me what on earth is happening on this album cover. At first I thought it was spilt milk. The album cover kinda goes along with the music. Regardless of the strange cover, we have nine songs in 32 minutes. The band writes short and concise death metal without wasting time.

“Concrete Basin Bath” start things in a monstrous fashion – right out of the starting gates a brutal fast moment with Will’s putrid vocals all over the place. This opening is quite powerful, and the slow down gets into that weird Reeking Aura element, which showcases how the band separates itself from the pact. This fast part has a huge Incantation vibe. The guitar harmonies and riffing are intricate and original. The stomp at the two minute part showcases the bass guitar sound and weird bending chords the band uses to bend our heads in two. This is one helluva way to open an album.

“A Forlorn and Frozen Vapor” is up next and no, no, no it’s not named after a fart I just ripped out. Double pounding speed, like the album opener, is fast, without getting into blast beat territory. The weird, ambient sounds, slows things down and I feel like I am floating in this weird mess of an album cover. Strange guitar riffs and the oft-kilter rhythm, during the mid-paced part, is extraordinary. The songs picks up the pace to an old school 90’s speed, great galloping moment. The time changes, during this song, are mind-bending and brutal.

“Gorged Beyond Grudges” has a hellaciously heavy opening sequence. The new drummer, is bombastic and the double bass is chest collapsing. The guitar melodies are excellent. Then the brutal tank-driven, mid-paced heaviness takes over. It is meant to crunch your bones into oblivion. Damn, this is heavy. Guitar solos whisping us away into the netherworld are in the distance. The song picks up the pace again, then back into the tank-driven groove. This moment will create pit havoc and busted faces. The bass guitar is ever present and adds a layer of complexity. The soft atmospheric moment erupts and I feel like I am in some smoke-laden jazz lounge. The metal gets back into business, then the faster moments erupt.

The band has some similarities to Will’s former band, Artificial Brain. After Will left that band, the band has had some difficulty recovering. Getting in a lot of new faces, but still no new album. Regardless, the similar moments are in the twisted, bending guitars, non-linear approach to death metal and incorporating atmosphere. Both bands are still different and also some of the best in all of death metal.

“What Worms Only Witness” has a creepy opening guitar riff. Sounds like it should be in a horror movie. The beat down riff, afterwards, will make you destroy your neighbors fence. A gallop engages the listener and the guitar riff is so original. The mid-section, with all the bellows and belches from Will, are just music to my ears, phenomenal. The lead guitar riff is enticing and catchy. The title track ends the album and is only 2.42 in length. It starts with a gallop, then gets into a polyrhythm beat down with some technical prowess. Intricate guitar riffing, then a nice sludgy isolated guitar riff, signifying the mid-paced beat down moment. Super heavy and wicked in its approach. The band fits a lot into such a short song.

On the Promise of the Moon benefits from a great production and strong musicianship. It is getting exceedingly tough to find good original death metal bands, yet, Reeking Aura is one of those bands. They continue to improve on each release and this album is fascinating in the song structures, brutality, harmonies and ambient atmosphere. There are numerous memorable elements to this album and suffice it to say, the death metal scene is put on notice. Reeking Aura is easily one of the best and most original death metal bands in the last five years. Crushing!!

But not much has changed other than a new guitarist. The style is still Middle Eastern-themed death metal, which isn’t quite as brutal as their more famous Egyptian-themed, South Carolina brethren Nile, but a more tempered, but beefy melodic death metal that has more in common with Hypocrisy, mid-era Behemoth (Zos Kia Kultus, Demigod, etc.), or Morbid Angel’s more churning moments, though certainly some Nile on the more intense moments.

The 4 song, 27-minute effort seems to continue from what I heard on Serpents of the Nile. Opener “Vow of the Sphinx” has a nice beefy grooving main riff with a smooth Arabic clean chorus, while “Hands from the Sun (Amon)” starts as a slower, moody number before delivering a pretty epic, orchestration-filled number.

The EPs standout is “Epistle of Secrets”, which melds some sweeping orchestration, some black metal, some choppy tech death, and burly death metal into a swirling sandstorm of a number before the EP is rounded out by “Monarch of Violence”, the EPs most savage but still epic and Middle Eastern tinged number.

A damn solid EP from a very underrated act, and at almost 30 minutes to boot, is good bang for your buck.

“Dead Mind Job” gets things underway with the bap, bap drums and right into a scorching blast beat. Nifty guitar work, and those drums resonate with me, as if he captured Suffocation’s former drummer, Mike Smith, and said show me your blast techniques. Some slowdowns resemble early Suffocation as well. About midway through, there is a guitar solo, with some melody and tempo shifts going from mid-pace to blast. The song slows again, and an even better, more intricate guitar solo takes center stage. The song slows even more with Roger laying down some excellent vocals. He does a decent job with his enunciation. The isolated guitar riff at the 3.15 timestamp, which is then replicated over the blast beat, is pure vintage Suffocation. Excellent album opener.

“Sleeping on Adrenaline” allows the bass guitar to get some love. Beginning with isolated bass guitar plucking, it’s then off to more blast beats and some tempo shifts with scorching heavy moments, then right into the blast. The isolated guitar riff, right before this blast, I do think, rather than going into the blast, the band should have hit a groove. The impact would have been devastating. Once again, guitar solos make their way into this song and are above average. They are placed in some really good areas, too.

The title track has a slow buildup, getting louder and louder. The music hits and booms right into the death metal blasting madness. Double pounding at the one-minute marker takes us back to early 90’s classic death metal. The guitar riffing and, most importantly, picking technique are clean and really well done. Stop and start blasting is also incorporated within. We even get some dissonant blasting taking us into Immolation territory. This is a super cool song.

“Maggots”, a short little ditty of a number, ends the album with some old school death thrashing speed, then right into the old Suffo type of blasting. There are some cool drum rolls and very tight blast beats. The riffing over the blast is fairly fast, too. Towards the end of the song, we get some 90’s era pinch harmonics, which tie in perfectly to the blend of old and newer school death metal that Caustic plays.

Inner Deflagration is a fun death metal album from Caustic. The production is warm, and the songs flow evenly. I would like to see some slower moments incorporated. When they hit an isolated guitar riff, at times, it would be better suited to go for a groove. There are cool tempo shifts throughout this album and a fair amount of melody, but a groove bordering on a slam is called for to break up some of the incessant blasting at times.

Overall, as death metal goes, it’s always a plus to see a band continue improving on each release, and that is what we have going on here. Caustic deserves a chance to be in your rotation, you will not regret it at the gym!

The band welcomes a new bassist, Arboria. The debut was a good display of a mish-mash of Morbid Angel-inspired death metal. Just as on the debut, the band writes long songs. This album has six songs in 46 minutes. Opening with the seven-and-a-half-minute “Asceticism”, there seems to be something a bit more sinister in the Towering Inferno.

The song opens with a brooding dissonance, which sounds exactly like something I would hear on an Ulcerate album. The instrumentation proceeds to get heavier and heavier until the blasting and growl erupt around the two-minute mark, but still no vocals. The 2.26 enters into the picture, the real start of the song, as the blast takes over, and this has a strong Ulcerate/Immolation feel to it, with those bending riffs. Vocals are not guttural, with more of an emphasis on a powerful, dry throaty gruff delivery. I am telling you, fans of Ulcerate, take notice of this band at once. Excellent deeper growls and the tempo changes from fast to slow, to mid-paced to atmospherics. The dissonant guitar riffing, over the fast blasts, is a non-linear approach, and there is much more depth to the band now. Really great opener.

“Shattering Individuality” opens with a dense guitar riff that feels like it was recorded in a cavern, way underground….like go all the way down to the depths of hell. The drums enter the picture slowly, then right into a blast with the bendy, oft-kilter guitar riffing. I feel like I am wading through fog, and I need to use my fog lights to see where I am going. The blasting is punishing, with the vocals berating us as if we have done something wrong. The double bass drums, during the mid-section moments, are devastating. Monster dissonance and blasting all over the place. Slower and mid-paced tempos are all woven within the blasting. You will never get bored with their tempo shifts. The atmosphere on this song, with the shouting vocals, the crazy guitar riffing, the sounds of the squealing dissonance, drums, and bass, all make for a very immersive experience. Listen to this one with headphones/AirPods, a creative use of sound.

“Embraced Atonement” is close to nine minutes and has a great otherworldly opening moment. The middle of the song showcases the rhythm section with the slower moments, the shouting vocals, and a little bit of a guttural growl. While the shouting type of vocal delivery is cool, I would have liked some deeper vocal tones throughout the album. I think it would bring out more diversity and not be so monotone. The shouting over a lot of the music becomes, to these ears, a bit much. The double bass sounds punishing on this song, and throughout the album, the double bass has an excellent sound to it.

The Oblation of Man, with its stark and depressing album cover, is perfectly suited for Towering’s newer type of sound. If you had played this album for me, without vocals, I really would have thought this was a new Ulcerate album. I mentioned the vocal stuff, and overall, the album is well mixed and well produced for this dissonant type of extreme metal.

This type of death metal is not easy on the ears. If you appreciate death metal that does not have a rather formulaic sound, and love bands such as Ulcerate, Immolation, Gorguts, etc., then Towering must be added to your list. This album surpasses their debut, and Alex – you keep killing it on your label, brother. Towering is an impressive death metal band.

Achlys is the band’s fifth album, and in case you’re wondering how Anasarca sounds, I’ll briefly break it down for you. They play a brutal form of death metal, which does harken back to their 90’s roots, and their music is very American-influenced. With smatterings of bands such as Suffocation and Deicide in their sound, as well as me picking up, over their releases, some early Hypocrisy – but only the first two albums from them – they’re best imo. So yes, be prepared for monstrous blast beats, pinch harmonics, gutturals, and powerful music to explode your head to. I was so thrilled when the band was picked up by Selfmadegod Records, one of my favorite labels out there. SMG-treat Anasarca right or there will be trouble.

10 songs in 40 minutes, and before I get into the first song, “My Reality”, I must explain that this is a concept album, and the concept and lyrics are very personal to Michael. I was honored with him sharing much of this with me. Throughout the years, the band has suffered losses of loved ones, including pets. Thus began the concept, as this album deals with grief and loss – just check out the amazing album cover. The band looked through their texts to others, about this concept, looked at writings over the course of time, and put it all together. A really neat idea. Michael sent me this album sometime last year. I have had numerous listens and have had this with me for a long time, and I must say it’s their best album.

The intro with the famous piano death march and creepy voiceover sets the tone for what is to come, then a monster drum roll and monstrous blast beat with Michael letting loose on an amazing growl. The intensity that is played on this song will rip your fucking head right off. The song gets into a slower, doomier passage, then an old school mid-paced double pounding beat. The guitar riff is super catchy – the band knows how to play it brutally but also catchily. More excellent drum rolls, kinda more like a drum solo, then the rhythm section erupts, is fantastic. Whew….. What a way to open this sucker.

I’ll mention that all the songs from the three-song Goddess promo are on here. The title track has an amazing opening, and the guitar riff has an early Hypocrisy sound to it, and the song is just plain vicious. The monster blasting and the part right before the minute mark are crucial. Luckily, they keep this going for a bit. Damn, and I thought their last album, Survival Mode, was catchy… I love that Michael lays out a lot of growls on this album, truly 90’s era type of brutality, and he gets into a bit higher range, and there is some vocal layering to go along with it. The blasts are beyond tight and are super-fast. Excellent tempo shifts galore on this. This is the best song on the album.

And what about “Pain Remains” – it’s not a Lorna Shore cover song, but this starts off brooding. Heavy AF and mid-paced with super-fast guitar riffing. Killer vocals ignite, and the bludgeoning heaviness continues until the blasting takes over. Some of these slower sections are the heaviest moments Anasarca has ever written, and the blasts are the fastest the band has ever sounded. The end almost takes on a gravity-blasting aura.

“Wish You Were Here” begins with mid-paced heaviness and crazy fast double bass, then right into the blasting. This continues and goes on for a bit, then mid-paced pummeling heaviness, and more blasting. Check out the time changes in this song. It sounds pretty challenging to play, but all the while super friggin’ catchy. This track is intense throughout.

Anasarca has returned in a huge way, and this is one helluva comeback album. With the stellar musicianship, supreme brutality, catchiness, album cover, tempo shifts, Achlys has all that and a bag of chips. The production is terrific, and this album is meant to be cranked at maximum volume. Armed with new members, a penchant to destroy, this album owns from start to finish!!!!!

These UK filthy death metal merchants released two prior albums and some EPs. Really quality death metal, and when looking at the label, you should know this will be gnarly. Cryptworm conjure up the filth ala Undergang, Rottrevore, early Carcass / Autopsy, and Demilich. The same three fellas return: Tibor Hanyi – Bass, Guitars, Vocals, Joss Farrington – Bass, Jamie Wintle – Drums. I have really enjoyed all their other releases, but by the third album, we do want to see maybe an album taking it to the next level, and that is exactly what Infectious Pathological Waste does. I mean, look at the album cover, yet another gore-drenched cover, and this fits the song titles to a T.

Eight songs in 35 minutes, and “Gallons of Molten Hominal Goo” opens the album. I actually ordered several gallons of this on the Amazon dark web. It comes in several different variants, like vinyl. The splattergasm olive green is the best. As soon as the drum rolls erupt and the putrid, clogged sewer pipe Demilich/Undergang-inspired vox explode, it is clearly evident that some production adjustments were made. There is more bottom end on this sucker, and while the Cryptworm sound remains intact, it sounds a bit more crushing. I love their guitar tone, and when the galloping starts at the 1.45 section, it is pure classic 1990. The song meanders into a quick blast, then to a slow moment, and more galloping. If this song does not conjure up the brown note within you, then nothing will except some YobaGoya (watch The League TV show, for that reference).

“Drowning in Purulent Excrementia” goes right into a massive blast beat with filthy vocals. The power comes when the band slows down, and those vocals take over, so filthy and filled with carbuncles. The song gets into a gallop, then more blasting. The guitar tone is dense yet discernible and does not sound like a mess. The blasting, at the 2.30 section, is excellent, and the snare sound is perfect. It cuts through without any high-pop sounds. I know our editor in chief will enjoy this drum tone.

The title track has a nice hoppy opening before the isolated guitar riff takes us to a terrific galloping moment and then some double pounding. The song returns to the beginning, opening with a hoppy slow moment. This part is actually quite happy-sounding, then the faster sections take over, with the plopped-out, stench-filled vocals. These slower moments, incorporated, will definitely start some circle pits. I want the band to film their circle pits during these moments, and if in the UK, the fans better be eating some fish and chips while slamming into each other. There are slower and doomier pathways to this song, and true heaviness is what this band is made of.

“Encephalic Feast” ends the album with a badass isolated guitar riff opening things up. The rest of the music joins in, as well as the vocals. This slow, dirgy, and quicksand-like pace gets even filthier with the vocal cackles and growls. I feel as if I am sinking in quicksand, not because the song is boring, but because this section is so damn dense. The song picks up the pace and some cool cymbal hits over the fast moments, then back into the slower pace with a killer growl. The song trails off in the doomy heavy fashion, as it opened, and is an excellent way to end the album.

Cryptworm has released their finest album, and Infectious Pathological Waste has it going on. From a better production, killer artwork, heavy and catchy death metal, and most of all, fun. The band has fun with the lyrics and song titles, and I enjoy seeing that in the industry. As of now, this is the filthiest, stinkiest, death metal album of 2026, and I am loving every minute of this stench fest. Driller Killer and no filler.

The 19 albums reflect all their cover albums too, and honestly, I am not a fan of those. Past the band’s fourth album True Carnage, 25 years ago, I felt the band started going downhill. A never-ending revolving door of members. When former Cannibal Corpse / Deicide guitarist Jack Owen entered the picture in 2017, the riffs started to become catchier and the songs a bit better. Let’s not forget they have one of the best death metal drummers around with Marco Pitruzzella (Anomalous, Sleep Terror, ex- Vile, ex-The Faceless, ex-Brain Drill), manning the helm for over a decade. Ray Suhy on guitars and Jeff Hughell on bass. The band is completed by legendary frontman Chris Barnes. Barnes has had his vocal struggles over the course of the SFU discography. Many of his high-pitched ‘eeeeessss’, ‘ahhhhhssss’ over the last several albums have bordered on comical, I will say. Never saw any real positive reviews over the course of their last several albums, mainly due to his vocals. They have started to get weaker and weaker and crack on albums, and definitely did not do those albums any favors.

The band stays true to their rocking, grooving death metal, but something is brewing on this album that has not been heard from the band in years. Chris’ vocals are actually fairly decent on this, and the songs are much more memorable with quality riffs. Now, did I set the bar low on this album, prior to listening? Perhaps. However, this past weekend I listened to this album quite a lot, and I noticed, while boxing at the gym, I was making that heavy bag my bitch. Chris has scaled back those highs to the point where they are not there. He is comfortable with his mid-range gravelly tone, and he sounds like Barnes.

12 songs in 46 minutes and opening with “Approach Your Grave”, this is an interesting album opener, as it is a slow, dirgy, and doomy number. The production is pretty darn good to boot. This song is slow, heavy, and filthy, and the lead guitar riff is excellent. The bass guitar is audible, and Barnes sounds good. Again, this is not Haunted or Tomb of the Mutilated Barnes, but his mid-range is audible, enunciated well, and the simplistic SFU formula helps with his vocals now. I would not open their live set with this song. But it’s a good middle-of-a-live-set tune, and my head bobs to this song.

“Destroyed Remains” is a faster number, and Marco has some killer drum rolls. He is trying to make the best of it because his skill set is far above the formula SFU writes and crafts. Some excellent isolated guitar riffs, and Barnes sounds pretty decent over some of the faster moments. The lead guitar riff is catchy, and we get some cool guitar solos, and I can hear a little Deicide influence in the solos. The song is rooted in mid-90’s death metal, and Marco tosses in a slight little blast every so often, but only for like 2 seconds, but still it’s very cool.

The band has always had some tongue-in-cheek chorus moments over the years, and “Mister Blood and Guts” is that one such song. It is so catchy, and while there is a dip in some of the vocal moments, Chris comes across as growly talking. Just him saying the title over and over in the beginning, for me, is catchy AF. Now, there are times a band will pay homage to an earlier band as a sign of respect. The song goes along, and the chorus repeats multiple times. When the vocals, tonnage, and phrasing of “Arriving as the living, Leaving as the dead, Aisles are filled with blood, Seats are filled with heads” now go to the classic Death song “Zombie Ritual”. Listen to the chorus moment when Chuck sings “Drifting from the living, joining with the dead Zombie dwelling maggots, now infest your head”. Whether it’s an homage or the band poached it from Death, it is almost perfectly replicated on this SFU album. I will take it as an homage to Death. Check it out, you will hear exactly what I am hearing – it’s fun.

“Grasped from Beyond” sounds like it could have been on Haunted. I am serious. The same galloping technique, and again, while simplistic in nature, it has a really nice lead guitar riff, and the band knows what they like, and they write what they like. Nice time changes, to the mid-paced double bass moments, and again some Deicide-inspired guitar solos, from Jack. Some excellent double bass moments as well, with Barnes growling “Grasped from Beyond” until the song ends. “Unmistakable Smell of Death” gets into brutality with blast beats and is definitely one of the best songs on here.

The album cover almost looks like something Carnifex would have on their albums a few albums ago, and it’s a pretty cool cover. Will Six Feet Under’s Next to Die blow you outta the water? Nope. Will you be pleasantly surprised at the improvements? I believe you will be. The band is very popular still, especially in Europe, and the band members know where their bread and butter lies, am I right?!? However, can Jack or Marco put out more intricate and brutal types of songs with another band? Absolutely! I look at it like this with the band, like an NFL team with a QB. They build the team around the strengths of the QB. Six Feet Under writes songs to the strength of Chris Barnes, now. Chris can no longer sing fast. His tones are not what they used to be; however, Chris has also made adjustments on this album with his vocals. He stays in his mid-range for the most part. He gets deeper here and there as well. There are the talky type of growly moments, but those cringy eeeeesssss etc… have taken the proverbial back seat on this album.

If you, like me, were a fan of the band’s first four albums but have been less than impressed with their output since, I urge you to give this a listen, with openness. I am enjoying the catchiness of this album and the improvements with Barnes on vocals. Call me a sucker, but I am digging this album!

It’s a Vomitory album.

Done.

I mean, of course I could flesh this thing out and ramble on about this being the band’s 9th album (11th if you count the Cut Up hiatus/ detour they band took after sort of breaking up back in 2011). And how their 9th album after the hiatus, 2023’s All Heads Are Gonna Roll, was like these Swedes never stopped.

I could cut and paste reviews of Blood Rapture or Primal Massacre, and talk about how this is 37 minutes and 10 songs of the same kind of no bull shit, no frills grindcore-tinged death metal that will appeal to fans of Lock Up as well as American death metal like Cannibal Corpse, as they don’t play your standard Swedish Death metal.

I might talk about the mix and master by Lawrence Mackrory (Baest, Bloodbath, Darkane, Defleshed, etc.), who also did All Heads Are Gonna Roll, and how fucking razor-sharp and clean it is.

I could then talk about how, from opener “Rapture in Rupture” to closer “Oblivion Protocol”, the album utterly rips with furiously relentless clamor. That tracks like “For For Gore and Country”, “Forever Scorned”, “Cataclysmic Fleshfront”, punky “Two and a Half Men”  and  “Erased in Red” (with an opening riff that could be one of Cannibal Corpse‘s signature slower songs) will rip your fucking face off.

I could even mention that the only departures are the slightly slower “Wrath Unbound” and parts of the title track and “The Zombie War General”.

Then I would wrap it up and say the closer “Oblivion Protocol” is an absolute fucking scorcher of a track that classic The Code is Red era Napalm Death fans would gobble up, and even has a killer melodic lead solo to end this utterly savage album.

But by then, I would have written a full review, so what’s the point?

…..fuck.

I haven’t heard the predecessor, so I can’t speak to that, but the promo materials also say the band “is still skillfully balancing on the edge of death and thrash metal”. And after spending some time with Total Mastery, that is a spot-on description.

There are some clear influences at play here; the opening throes of introductory instrumental “The Pit Awaits” as well as “Mass Human Extinction” reek of Hypocrisy’s slower The Fourth Dimension while later-ish tracks, and the real opener “The Pit Slayer” and the next track “High Ground” as well as tracks like “Ruins of Reason”, recall Hypocrisy’s faster, thrashier melodeath numbers. So yeah, I’m hearing a lot of melodic death metal here, but the burlier, heavier kind, not the more wispy, Gothenburg dual-layered In Flames style.

But then I also get moments of German Dew Scented’s, snarling death/thrash (“One Shot Kill”, “Skeletal Thorns”, “The Tyrant’s Scepter”), and even some riffs you might hear on an Amon Amarth record (“Bloodsport”, “Deathtouch”). None of it is particularly original, but it’s enjoyable, well delivered, and well produced by Timo Hocke (Mantar, Downfall of Gaia).

The only downside is the album’s 51-minute run time, which is a tad long, and the last song, “Cougar Claws (Return of the Leathermilf)”, which I guess continues a character/song from the first album. It sounds and feels like a cover song, with a heavy metal vibe, that doesn’t jive with the rest of the album. I can appreciate the band showing their more humorous side, just not sure if this is it. A simple cover song would have been better, but I’m just some internet hack- you do you Messticator!

“These Vengeful Winds” comes blasting forward with a start and stop blast that is pretty lethal, and Ross “The Real Boss” sounds just as ferocious as past efforts. Ross takes care of himself, and as a singer doing this sort of vocal work for decades, he is still one of the best out there. The dissonant riffs that have Bob Vigna’s influence all over this are crucial to the Immolation sound. The start and stop groove with the 90’s era vintage pinch harmonics have pinched the angel’s legs clean off the trunk, from this album cover. That is how precise and sharp the Immolation harmonics are. The drums are pretty intricate, and the poly-rhythms are ever-present, on this album opener. This is an excellent song, one that goes for the jugular, then slows down and gets moody.

“The Ephemeral Curse” erupts with a monstrous blast, unlike the album opener, which has a very short intro, this sucker will go into your ear and rip out your eardrum. It is loud AF. More stop and start blasting with bending guitar riffs and more off-kilter drum patterns. Check out the 2.20 timestamp. It’s hoppy, dissonant, atmospheric, and just plain weird. Immolation does death metal weird the right way, as they are one of the purveyors of this dissonant style of death metal. Other bands in this style, you probably know are, Demilich, Gorguts, Incantation, Ulcerate, Artificial Brain, Pyrrhon, etc.. Terrific guitar patterns and a solo to boot. Monster blasts all around us and squealing guitars to slice your face to ribbons.

“Adversary” and “Attrition” were the first two singles released before the release of the album. I’ll take a stab at “Adversary”, since it’s supremely brutal. Monstrous opening blasts and drum rolls early on, then the discordant riffage takes center stage as the song meanders into a slower, more visceral pattern. The song goes for more high velocity blasting, then slowing down even further with some melodies, and the riffs are excellent with the album production and mix capturing Immolation’s sound. I love the drum blasting at the three-minute mark. So tight.

Ending the album with the longest track, the title track, is blistering in its opening, then the slower portion with the cool double bass pattern. The start and stop motion is hypnotic, in its dissonance, and metronome-like effect. Around the two-minute marker, a swirling guitar solo comes in, and Immolation’s monstrous presence is felt in the blasting and slower pace that erupts afterwards. This song is very catchy, and I love the lead guitar riff.

Descent bests Immolation’s last effort. The band does not rest on its laurels and has created an even more complex and brutal release, which will be on my year-end list. How the band comes up with some of their perplexing riffs…well, perplexes me! Original, brutal, and crushing – this album owns from start to finish. The ubiquitous nature of Immolation’s signature sound can be heard in so many varying genres of extreme metal; however, trust and believe there is only one Immolation!!

Newcomers, Necrogore are from Italy (who already have bands like Horrid and Eroded playing this style), and they play a pretty killer style of the genre. This is the band’s debut, but they have some singles and splits, as well as an appearance on the Dismember tribute album Dreaming in Red from 2024 (their song was “The God That Never Was”).

Once a genre that got me super excited immediately, not much over the last year or so has really grabbed my attention – even the 2025 releases from stalwarts Entrails, Lik, and Carnal Savagery barely registered with me. The last few bands that really impressed me were Come, Sweet Death, and Gravestone from 2023. But a couple of Spring/summer efforts here in 2026 might pull me back in; of course, there is the new Fleshcrawl, Xorcist’s Aberrations, and this gnarly debut.

With the moniker of Necrogore and song titles like “Leeches on My Dick” and “Forced to Eat Shit”, you’d be forgiven for thinking this power trio would be a porno/goregrind band, but they pull fully from the holy trifecta of Dismember, Entombed (the opening intro is a clear nod to “Left Hand Path”), and Grave.

The chainsaw guitar tone is spot on, as the band essentially states they created their own version of the HM-2 pedal, and the songs all deliver an excellent mix of the big three above. From the galloping, hacks ‘n’ slashes of “Forced to Eat Shit” and “Leeches on My Dick”, the punky blasts and gallops of “Offered to the Dead” and “Mediumistic Intercession”, the Grave-ish stomps of the instrumental title track, and “One Foot in the Grave” and even the more lumbering doomy, six+ minute “Sulphureal Morbid Corpse”.

The album ends with a fierce Swedish death metal reworking of  Jerry Lambert’s The Texas Chainsaw Theme, and only die-hard horror score fans will even recognize it.

A solid, promising debut from a young band paying homage to the elder gods, but still putting a bit of their own personality into things.

Intro song named “Into the Grave”- check.

Gothic font logo- check.

So I’ll give you one guess what the debut release from Ataraxy’s Santi Racaj sounds like?

Yeah, though hailing from sunny Spain, this is 100%  Grave worship, so HM2 buzzing death metal, but Santi has given it a more raw, putrid, sometimes doomy aura, that has a bit of an Autopsy stench here and there (i.e, the little bridge during “A Somber Night”).

Santi brought in Ataraxy bandmate Javi to handle vocals, and he has a spot-on early Jorgen Sandstrom roar. And the guitar tone has a sort of early Grave demo/first album low end, which makes tracks like “The Eternal Embrace”, “Rebellion Against the Grave” and “Revenge From Beyond”, deliver the musty, but feral old school death metal goodness, even if i wish the bass drum had a little more heft.

A solid introductory EP, and now I need to go and check out Ataraxy, I guess.

Since the last album some shifts in the line-up. Old school original bassist for the band, Mark van Erp, returns to the fold. Justin Walker is the new guitarist, and Edwin Webb is the new vocalist, replacing long-running vocalist Mike Hrubovcak. Don’t worry, no drop off in the vocals as Edwin sounds like past Monstrosity vocalists and has an intelligible, gruff delivery that suits the band’s sound. Matt Barnes returns on guitars and drummer extraordinaire, Lee Harrison, has been keeping the band afloat since their inception in 1990 – the dude’s drumming ages like a fine wine, and this is the best drum work he has done.

“Banished to the Skies” opens the album and, at close to seven minutes, is the longest song on the album. Honestly, the way this song opened the album, I was like Monstrosity is really shifting gears on their sound and going the progressive death metal route. After eight long years, I feel the band should have erupted outta the starting gates with one of the more brutal songs on the album, and there are many to choose from. This tune would have been better served in the middle of the album. The musicianship is extraordinary, but it is slow, progressive, moody, and really is outta place as the album opener. The guitar solos across this song are fabulous, and the double bass will destroy you during those mid-paced moments.

But the next song, “The Colossal Rage”, would have been a better song to open the album. Starting with some classic speedy pounding thrashing, this is pretty intense, and the drum rolls are a thing of beauty. There are some short moments of blast beats tossed in, and they are intense AF. Really, if the band wanted to blow it outta the starting gate,s it’s “The Atrophied” they should have started with. Intense opening blast beats, solos, and scorching pinch harmonics usher in their 90’s sound to the fold. The drum roll at the 4:52 part, then going right into the blast beat, is perfect, and Edwin’s vocals are exceptional. Really, from this song until the end it’s intensity with a capital I.

“Spiral” starts with some isolated guitar riffing, bass, and drum thumps, then boom! right into a super-fast blast beat with killer screams. The chorus, over the mid-paced bludgeoning heaviness, is catchy, precise, and well-crafted. More monster drum rolls, almost a bit of a solo, if you will, then into a slower moment. The squealing pinch harmonics are excellent, as well.

“Vapors” is another scorching, brutal song with a plethora of tempo changes, slow, blasting, mid-paced moments, and this song hits you square between your teeth and gives you a knuckle sammich. Rather than end on a whimper, “Veil of Disillusion” closes the album and has monster blast beats throughout this sucker, and the guitar riffing is pretty damn fast. The guitar solo, over the opening blast beat, is well placed. The song gets into a classic 90’s pounding, and the catchy guitar riff starts us up again to signifythat a blast is erupting. The rhythm section is on fire and brutal AF. This is how you end an album!

After a disjointed album opener, the rest of Screams from Beneath the Surface blows the listener outta the window with Gatling Guns blazing. Again, the album opener is good, but placed in the middle of the album would have been more effective. The musicianship, production, and catchiness of this album are stellar, and I have had this album on repeat since I received the promo. I’ve probably listened to this sucker about 15 times already. Monstrosity, thanks to Lee, has never forgotten their roots.

With their 90’s sound firmly in place, the band still sounds modern and the songs all fresh. There is no wuss out here with the intensity and velocity of these songs. There are many to choose from to include in their setlist as well. Monstrosity has returned with a monstrous album, ready to devour you. If you fail to get this album, you will have the “Burden of Evil” placed on you for all eternity.

Anyway, today has brought me a promo for an album I’ve been waiting for with bated breath; I’m talking about the new CrusHuman opus Imperial… what else would I be waiting for like that? The new Nicki fucking Minaj? I think absolutely fuck that. Nope, I’m talking about the aforementioned CrusHuman, and this is coming in hotter than a cougar on league night. Fourteen angry tracks of brutal Grindcore and this time they’ve brought some evolution with them.

If the songs from the stellar EP Besides were an indication of things to come (more slams, more groove, etc.) Then Imperial should be spinning like a possessed Nun in your musical apparatus. Now that I’ve built it up, how is it?

Well. Right off the bat, we get TOTD scribe; the immortal Frank Rini shredding his vocal cords with his penetrating roar on “Bell Ringer”. I swear his fucking uvula can lift 50lbs with no effort whatsoever. For a straight minute and fifty-one seconds, you’re beaten head and foot by the sheer weight of the song. Then, nineteen seconds later, “Lab Rat” has already cruised by like an assassin’s bullet.

Last year’s Besides fought it out with Kosuke Hashida for Best Grindcore album, and it’s sort of ironic that Kosuke Hashida has put out their Moment of Silence, and here I have a new CrusHuman, there’s something going on in the universe, probably imminent destruction and pain. Anyway.

“5 Dollar Lobotomy” has this ultra-infectious main riff that rings in your head hours after listening has ended. It’s a shredding Napalm Death-ish track that has a huge Diatribes/Words from the Exit Wound vibe to it, the closing riff is a fucking thing of beauty. “Synthetic Religion” digs deeper into society and its fascination with organized religion, while “Hive Mind” has a bit of a Lock Up meets Nasum itch to scratch with some killer shouted gang vocals over a striding beat.

One thing about Imperial is that they slam more on this release than on the two previous; this gives way to some interesting Internal Bleeding and Sanguisugabogg moments, particularly in “Die Young”. “Order of the Dragon” brings a bit of Terrorizer to the table, while “Discord” continues in the Napalm Death vein. “The List” seems to hint at the CrusHuman story arch but only a tiny bit; it doesn’t sound like that has been continued here, which is cool. These guys don’t need to be troubadours and bards.

“Trinity” is a fucking menacing track. Slow (kinda) and vicious riffing punching holes in the sky. “Wet Works” surges forward with victorious weapons in its arsenal and some more discordant guitars skronking away in the background.

The hits keep coming, literally. There are fourteen tracks on Imperial, the songs are longer than those on Besides and the first album collectively.

“Artificial Salvation”, “Last Drop”, and the craziest song on the whole album, “OTTO”, round out the final three; “OTTO” is a slamming masterpiece and the perfect ending for this ass kicker.

This is already shaping up to be another great year for Heavy Metal, and CrusHuman is leading the charge once again. With stellar production that ensures each instrument is mixed perfectly. If you love Napalm Death, Nasum, Brutal Truth and Lock Up, then you should already be familiar with CrusHuman and their brand of brutality. Go get this!

While 2022s Tyrants of Doom added a cleaner, clearer sound and some other old school death metal dynamics to the material, it still reeked of Autopsy. And that remains the same for Dread Emperor, as it’s 40 minutes and 9 songs (plus 1 intro) deliver the exact same recipe as the last few albums.

That could not be more obvious from the scrawling intro “Enthroned” and the first tracks, “Obliteration Crusade”, and “Rapture of Rot” which could have come from any Autopsy album, especially the crawling solos,  just with a less sinewy, icky tone.

The rest of the album is pretty much the same, with lots of moments that make you go “oh that’s Autopsy” such as the rotten sway in “Subconscious Pandemonium” and the doomy lopes of the title track and “The Forsaken Ones”.

But Slaughterday, at least don’t deliver a complete rip off, as they do have some standard European Death metal moments here and there, such as the classic Stockholm death metal gallop of “Astral Carnage”, grooving death ‘n’ roll of “Dethroned”, which could be a latter Entombed song, or Bolt Thrower rumble of closer “Golem”.

In all, another fine addition to the band’s discography, that should appease fans of Autopsy, as well as just good death metal.

Check out the creative album cover, most likely due to some punk not following the laws of driving, and ended up as a slab of death and slime on the ground. The person was probably eating a McRib, while driving, their hands getting all saucy and the steering wheel slipping right outta their hands…BOOM!!!!

Exhumed is always fun to listen to and is brutal as well. Well-played death grind has to have catchy and well-written songs, and Exhumed ALWAYS brings it. 10 songs in 37 minutes, “Unsafe at Any Speed”, starts with some brash drums and the dual vocals of Matt (higher rasps) and Ross with the gutturals are a well-oiled machine. After some mid-paced moments, the blast beats erupt with the dual vocals, still bringing back those early Carcass vibes. Terrific guitar solos, taking us back to the Carcass Heartwork era, big time, this moment bringing forth more melody than what one is accustomed to from Exhumed. The blasting continues and is tight AF. It’s a pleasant surprise to also have both vocal styles mixed in as well as what we get here. The low ends are not buried.

The title track starts with more melodic Carcass-inspired moments, as this song is mid-paced with terrific guitar melodies. At the 2.18 with the brief isolated guitar riff, we go right into a perfectly timed blast beat. The song settles into a vintage galloping head banging moments, which brings a smile to my face, since I love these moments. More melodic guitar soloing, then right into more blasting.

“The Iron Graveyard” starts with an opening. I was expecting a blast beat, but nope. Into a gallop, then the blast hits, and the guitar riffing is razor sharp, again with snippets of melody tossed in for good measure. Galloping, blast, rise, repeat. I am a sucker for these types of tempo shifts. Yet another killer song.

“Crawling from the Wreckage”, with the isolated distorted bass guitar, is excellent, as the powerful groove hits…Oh, in case you were wondering Exhumed have crafted what could be considered a concept album, as pretty much each song speaks of the horrors of vehicular accidents, as well as some transients, who get off on being at those types of crime scenes. This song has a fair amount of blasting, melodic soloing, and the last 30 seconds of this tune are intense.

“The Fumes” brings the madness to a close. Excellent isolated guitar riffing and a slow gallop of sorts take center stage for the duration. One will not be able to stop headbanging to this tempo, while also doing some fist-banging mania. More guitar solos erupt, then back into the gallop. The double bass drums, over these moments, are effective. If anything, this song has more in common with traditional heavy metal than true extreme metal. The nods to classic metal bands are quite intriguing. One would maybe expect the band to end as brutally as they started. But not here. Exhumed is mixing things up for us long-time fans.

Red Asphalt sees an even more mature Exhumed, as they whip out more melody on this album than maybe what we are used to. Make no mistake, there are tons of high velocity blasts across the album, just more melody inserted throughout the album.

Exhumed never disappoints, one of the few bands, and christ I have been listening to them for 20 years, that have never released a disappointing album. I also give kudos to make an album with all the titles tying into the album cover. Excellent. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?!? Kick ass album!

This album is the 14^th full-length from these Swedish trolls of brutality. Of course it’s a doozy, it wouldn’t be a Rogga album if it didn’t have dirty as fuck guitar tone, feral vocals, and the sickest riffing from the bowels of wherever Hell is in Sweden.

From the blast-laden first (title) track “As Mankind Rots” the pedal is through the floor. “Devoured” is, by contrast, a slower-moving creature. Throbbing double bass catches your breath as the track rolls over you. Paganizer in 2026 is a veritable force of nature. Sporting a glorious production that will leave you gasping on the floor, battered like a catfish on a Sunday evening.

Paganizer plays with tempos like a deranged cat with a mouse. “Aftermath Bleeder” and “Only Maggots” pulse with a prime era Death Metal heartbeat. They get into Bolt Thrower and Hail of Bullets territory on “Put on Your Gasmask” and “Hollow”… think Mercenary and On Divine Winds/ III: The Rommel Chronicles (respectively). As Mankind Rots is the fitting follow-up to 2024s Flesh Requiem because that was a perfect album in its own right.

“A Testament to Madness” and “Afterworld” are incredible centerpiece tracks, providing enough dynamics to keep it enjoyable as fuck. Is this Paganizer’s best album? That I can’t say, it’s pretty fucking brutal, the production, as I said before, is on point. Everything sounds phenomenal, proving that there are no signs of them slowing down anytime soon.

“The Rotting End” doesn’t let up for a second, it being a roller-coaster of tempo shifting madness, and not to be outdone, “One Way to the Grave” brutally ruins your ears… but then “Vanans Makt” comes dancing in. I almost wish the whole album was like this, not saying that everything else is subpar, but this track channels Korpiklaani, and it’s just bouncy as fuck. The addition of female vocals is a secret weapon that hopefully will show up on future releases.

At the end of the day, Paganizer has released another fantastic album (like I was surprised that they did). Chock full of relentless blasting, razor-sharp riffs, and earthshaking drums. Meat and potatoes Death Metal at its finest hour, and you fans of, well, anything Rogga Johansson has done in his career will undoubtedly eat this motherfucker up. So do yourself that favor you keep promising you’re going to do and get this album, before you rot away.

Whew, with that outta the way, Advent of Wounds, and the band as a whole, is something that screams Dark Descent Records, with their dark, barbaric, cavernous type of death metal bands. But if you snooze, you lose, and these last two albums have been on Everlasting Spew Records.

In terms of this style of death metal, Fossilization is easily in the upper echelon. With average song lengths of five minutes, “Cremation of a Seraph”, begins this seven-song album. If you love Incantation, you will, in fact, love Fossilization, and this song gets right into a monstrous blast beat. Vocals truly call to mind Craig Pillard (Disma/ex-Incantation). The blast, for one, is on point, and the vocals are tremendous. Rooted in late 80’s, early 90’s death metal, this song finally slows at the 1.45 section. A killer mid-paced moment, that is heavy AF, with the guitars having some dissonance to them, bringing forth an Immolation style and even a little of Ulcerate with the bendy riffage. The pounding gallop at the 3.13 is catchy, and then off to the races with the blasting. The band could not have selected a better opening song.

“Terrestrial Mold” starts with a drum roll, and the blasting and riffing technique is so catchy and unique. Those throaty, deep vocals sound like the Devil conjuring some of his minions to the surface of the Earth. Once the song slows at the 1.28 timestamp, this part is doomy and works well. The blasting returns and the doom death metal moment, in the middle of the song, is terrific. So heavy and droning. We get another pounding galloping moment, like the first song, and in a live environment, I could envision the fans headbanging in unison while holding up the metal horns. More off-kilter, slower moments towards the end of the song bring forth a crawling, eerie atmosphere. Yet another great part of this band.

“Temple of Flies and Moss” ends the album by blowing out eardrums with the opening blast. The song briefly slows down, then back to the blast, then back to the slower moment. The pounding heaviness and this slower moment are excellent at displaying Fossilization’s rhythm section. The almost black metalish style riffing takes us off to the races with the fast moment, and it’s very catchy. That double pounding, headbanging beat, from all the other songs, returns and is killer, especially how there is a drum roll that takes us into a brutal blast.

This style of death metal can sound like mud if not produced and mixed correctly. Fossilization understands this and Advent of Wounds sounds pummeling, because the band paid attention to this fact. If someone had told me this was some long-lost Incantation unreleased album, I would not have questioned it. One could say this is Brazil’s answer to Incantation. The band does have a signature style regarding the pounding galloping moments, which makes them stand out a little more than other bands playing this style. This is really memorable. The album cover fits the music perfectly. Fossilization has released their finest outing ,and this album is ferocious!

The band is listed as a blackened death metal band, but honestly, I don’t really notice black metal in their sound. Yeah, there’s some keyboards and shit thrown around a bit like on “Devilish Prophecies”, but that’s about it. Anyway, back to this song. Reworked a bit from their demo, this tune is one of the strongest songs on this album. Starts doomy, slow doomy, with a bit of an old Autopsy tinge, even in the faster gallop that erupts.

Let me digress a bit…I dig their organic sound. The guitar tone is actually warm and not processed. Anyway, the song picks up a faster-paced speed, and Oleg Malleus has a good set of pipes. For reference purposes, he does a pretty nailed-down version of David Vincent, from the third and fourth legendary Morbid Angel albums, when Vincent’s voice went a tad deeper and more gruff. There are a variety of tempo shifts with a Morbid Angel style to some of the bendy guitar chords, and the keys towards the back end of the song add some creepy ambience. Excellent song.

Let’s rewind back to the beginning, and the opening intro is rather long, at over two minutes, with the synths and atmosphere. It’s ok, but nothing spectacular that’s gonna knock you on your ass. Epitome of Fear comes forth with a killer isolated guitar riff. The song picks up the pace, then slows back down to a mid-paced, similar in style to Bolt Thrower. This part with the riffage and double bass is most excellent. Lots of tempo shifts to spin your little head around. Really cool song. It would have been neat for that intro to have started and been only a few seconds, starting low, then sped up and louder, and gone right into this song with that opening isolated riff…would have owned.

https://youtu.be/uxw7yERe_ac?si=J2z9T1VbMqm0vr_K

I always say, know your metal history, and Void Monuments forgot that part with the song “Decapitate the Saints”. “Decapitated Saints” was a killer song on Vader’s great debut album, The Ultimate Incantation, released decades ago. Regardless, there’s an ambience to the buildup, and then the mid-paced opening has a guitar solo over it. Neat! The song has a nice jumpy riff, during the slower moments, with really cool vocals and growls. The song picks up the pace, and when I have said that before, the pace never gets into blast beat territory on the album. We are talking about more of a classic, death metal speed of the late 80’s, early 90’s. Almost death thrashy, but 100% death metal. This song has more slower moments, and the doom is evident in certain sections.

“Father of Sin” ends the album has slower, doomier passage,s and the gallop, fairly early on, is terrific. The band has a pretty decent rhythm section going for them, and this song is one of the best on the album. The mid-paced, slower moments and galloping sections work great, without the faster parts. So I am glad they left those parts outta the song.

Posthumous Imprecation is a gnarly little death metal album from Void Monuments. With a classic type of album cover design, calling to mind the death metal years of yore, this is a well-done debut album. It’s tough finding bands with originality these days, because there’s literally like a billion extreme metal bands. Void Monuments, though, play their music with conviction ,and I love this older style of death metal so much. The band hit the mark with the production on this. Good stuff!

Once the opening fuzzy riffs of “Funebraclav” come to life, it is evident the band is heavily influenced by early Autopsy, Obituary, and Rottrevore. Picture that guitar tone. And when I mean Autopsy I am speaking of their first 2 albums. The pace picks up, and Iggy has a putrid set of pipes and even lets out some Reifert-style yucky growls. The speed is mired in the late 80’s and early 90’s sound. There is a rawness to this act, and at times the sound comes across as a little loosey goosey, rehearsal tape sound. I think it’s more to do with the mix, which could have been better. There is a noiseness to the production, but the music owns. Especially the second song “Doctor Syringe” with the distorted bass and this is a very short song, but it’s heavy.

“They Who Don’t Sleep Will Not Wake Up” starts with a piano intro before the isolated fuzzy guitar riff brings forth the heaviness. As the rest of the instruments wake up, we are mired in a sludgy doom death pace, which is extremely heavy with some guitar harmonies creating an ambience of dread. The mid-paced heaviness gets going with the strictly old school death metal approach, and the organic nature of the instruments is well done; I would imagine this band is excruciatingly heavy in a live environment. The speedier moment, at the 2.50 section, is well done, but the galloping moment afterwards is much better, then it’s back to the swifter speed. The rhythm section at the 3.35 section showcases the heaviness with the guitars and bass guitar. Really a strong section with a lot of headbanging moments throughout this number. This must be in their live setlist.

“The Notes of the Deceased” is another short song at two minutes and gets things going with the slow opening section. A drum roll then takes us to the double pounding speed, and then the song gets back into the gallop, and the tempo shifts like this for a bit. There is some well-done guitar picking over the double pounding section, and the song slows things down with some buzzsaw-like riffage. This moment with the pained and anguished vocals are one of the stronger moments on the album.

Despite what I said about the grindcore, at the beginning, the band takes a little from that playbook, such as on “Flies Don’t Lie”, which is a few seconds long. “Stinks” was a single released prior to the album release, and the song does not stink!! Has a cool mid-tempo hoppiness to it with a terrific galloping moment that gets that circle pit moving at once. This is probably the best part, for me, on the album. This gallop takes me back to 1989, Severed Survival. The song eventually picks up the speed and a nifty tune, indeed.

I dig Stranguliatorius. I think they are a good death metal band, holding that banner of old, high, and proud. Flies Don’t Lie is good, but noisier than the band’s past albums. The mix/production has this sounding a bit demo-ish in parts. I do prefer the band’s prior album, from 2021, Doctor’s Orders: Do Not Touch!, since overall that sounded much better. Some things for the band to clean up, for the next release, are the production for sure. Other than that, this is good underground raw death metal!

It’s now been five years since Šahrartu was unleashed, and Eximperitus is back with a shortened name and a blistering newbie called Meritoriousness of Equanimity. These guys love long song titles, and the first track is literally the shortest title. “One Step Long Infinity” comes storming right out of the gate with blast beats galore; it’s a quick and devastating salvo reminiscent of Behemoth and “Slaves Shall Serve” from the punishingly fantastic Demigod.

“Contemplation of the Plastic Fibers of Perfection at the Second Level of Reality” starts off with some godly double bass; it lurches forward until the two-minute mark, and after some killer staccato riffing, the blasts come raging forth. This is a gut-punching album, far surpassing Šahrartu in terms of production, technicality, and sheer badassery.

“Twelve Centuries of Triumph of the Third Kingdom: the Idea of the Inner Creation of the Aristocratic Character of the Leader and the Process of Tempering Him in the Crucible of Trials in the Face of the Exaltation of Life as an Ode to the Heroic Ideals of Future Civilizations” is an instrumental powerhouse, venturing into some crazy psychedelic ruminating on a psychotic theme. A little bit Jazzy but not full-on Changeling or anything like that.

The next two tracks are my favorites on Meritoriousness of Equanimity. “Finding Consistency in the Fourth Quadrant of Eternity” is a slow-burning, scorched-earth policy track. There’s some (alright) clean vocals near the end that you’ll either love or hate; I didn’t mind them anyway. “The Untimely Fruit of the Unsaid” is a bullet to the jugular, reminding me of Marduk and the approach they had on the vigorous Viktoria album. This is the most vicious song; it’s unsettling, ominous, and brutal as fuck.

“Golden Chains for the Construction of Individual Greatness” is a bit of a Suffocation-style stomper, like the best parts of Effigy of the Forgotten, Breeding the Spawn, and Pierced from Within thrown into one big and brutal cauldron of Death Metal goodness. This motherfucker will snap your neck toot sweet.

“Molecular Disintegration of an Unattainable Solitary Will in a Vessel of Wisdom…as a Result of the Soul’s Aspiration to Break the Summed Up Set of Delusions of Reason… in the Course of a Personal Experience of Accepting the Imperfection of the World and Proving that Time Gets Rid of the Fragile and Leaves Invulnerable” Jesus fucking Christ, I thought Esoctrilihum and Dead and Dripping had long song titles… this one is another trippy as hell instrumental that made me want to take my brain out and play with it.

“Chalkionic Wandering Among the Wreckage of the Future” and “Standing at the Skirt of the Ruins of Human Nature (…on the Other Side of Man and Time)” round out this ear-gouging masterpiece. This is a majestic, soaring Death Metal album. I urge you to get this. These last two songs are berserk, the latter bursting into epic passages that out-power the most bombastic Power Metal band (whoever they may be).

If you love Marduk, Suffocation, Xavleg, and Defeated Sanity, you’ll eat this release up. Get it fucking now!

John Hull – Bass, Vocals (backing), Matt Kilner – Drums, Kyle Currie – Guitars (lead), Casey Bryant – Vocals have created a brutal five-song EP in the name of Apotheosis. “Violent Power Cycle” opens with a spoken word section, which is very long, at a minute in length. Then the pop pop with the drums and right into a killer blast beat. Vocals are enunciated quite well and are delivered in a powerful, gruff delivery. There is some very cool technical guitar riffing happening, with a pinch harmonic here and there thrown in to slice you in half. The riffing is super-fast over the blast beats, and we get a nifty guitar solo as well. Drum rolls are fast and precise. The only thing is, I do wish more of an organic sound had been delivered with the double bass drums. These drums, while triggered, have the typewriter sound, which I am not the biggest fan of. When double bass drums are recorded/produced more organically, you feel it in the chest cavity as your body explodes.

“Sanctus Exanimatus” starts ferociously fast. Not a good thing while you are eating a sammich for lunch. I finished my sammich in 0.0 seconds, while listening to this, then began eating my fingertips. How I finished this review, you certainly do not want the details on that. At the 2.35 section, some well-placed gutturals and absolutely pummeling grooves take hold of you and give you a helicopter whirlwind beatdown. Some start and stop riffing over the groove makes things exciting. This tune is so damn brutal…it absolutely rules.

“Deus Grotesk PT1 (Swallowing Nails)” opens with more spoken word moments than into some kick ass grooves and wild guitar pinch harmonics, and creative drum patterns. The growl at the 2.23 section is lethal as the groove continues alongside pinch harmonics and pummeling riffing, and a blast here and there thrown in. Atmospherics ignite to slow things down, and the groove continues with a jump up and down tempo. This part showcases more of the band’s technical prowess, especially the guitar solo around the 4.15 mark. This slower, more ethereal section continues for a bit and reminds me a bit of The Faceless (whatever happened to them??). The slow atmospherics take us to the end with the spoken word clips inserted for good measure.

“A Remote Killing” starts with a long spoken word clip and then viciously rips your face off, and there is no subtlety here, folks. Monstrous riffing, isolated riffs, and some classic tempos, taking us back to the early 90’s. More blast beats and gutturals, and the guitar solo, towards the end of the song, is piped in pretty high in the mix, just to say Hi…look at me. It’s a tight solo, too.

Apotheosis is a real, solid debut release for TerrorVerse. Because of their technical nature, I could see those moments and the atmospherics expanded upon on a full-length album. For now, this is to wet our whistle, and they are a promising young band. I mentioned a few things earlier that I was not the biggest fan of, so I won’t be redundant. The artwork goes along with the grotesque lyrical content of killing and brutality. Don’t be dumb and ignore this band. This EP will slam you into the ground!

When looking at this album cover, I was like this is gonna be some techy type of stuff and I was not too far off. Think, early 90’s tech/progressive death metal. Think Death on their Human and Spiritual Healing albums, alongside Pestilence – Testimony of the Ancients, that sorta sound, especially Pestilence in the vocal and progressive death metal department, as well as Gorguts – their first two albums and Atheist The album opener and album closer title track act as an intro and outro so since both add nothing to the album I will skip talking about them.

“Day After Day”, after the intro, erupts with astonishing riffing with nods to the above-mentioned bands. In some respects, if this album had had a Dan Seagrave album cover and you told me this was some remastered forgotten gem from 1991, I would have believed you. Those Pestilence moments are strong, and there is some of that jazz fusion stuff they did on Spheres right here on the opening track, as well as some of the newer Pestilence, heavier stuff they started to do on their comeback album Resurrection Macabre. Those heavy start and stop bouncy riffs – that Patrick crafts so well in Pestilence. This opening song has guitar solos, ethereal,a nd they punch home rather well.

“Dismal Fate” starts in a Cynic sort of way with the atmosphere, and then the mid-paced, heavier riffing takes center stage. The double bass drums sound monstrous, and this groove could have a bit of a pit to it, come to think of it. The tempo shifts to a slower moment with guitar soloing and very progressive moments, seen on the Human album by Death. This is evident in the speedy double bass moments, poly-rhythmic drumming, and crunchy and fast guitar riffing. Simply terrific.

“Trapped in a Mirror” has a plethora of kick-ass galloping headbanging moments, which switch to that mid-paced fast double bass and killer guitar riffing. More of the jam session jazz fusion erupts until the isolated guitar riff comes in. A Holy Shit moment, with the galloping erupting, with a great pinch harmonic. This rhythm section is on fire during this moment. A guitar solo steers things in a more atmospheric, slower ambient section, before taking us to the gallop once again. This album should be a guitar player’s wet dream as the plethora of quality solos all over the place are extraordinary. The bass guitar is pretty prominent here as well.

“Mindless Human Form” has a monstrous galloping opening sequence. Vocals ignite and the tempo shifts from slow, then back to the gallop, with the bass guitar strumming shining. The song becomes exceedingly slow, only to get back into that fast galloping madness, then to be greeted by a cool vintage type of Luc Lemay-inspired growl. The fast past gallop continues, becoming more ferocious, then slowing back down again, until the outro ends things.

Cryoxyd captures a wonderful nostalgic death metal moment, and This World We Live In…would have fit perfectly on the Roadrunner Records roster in the 1989-1993 era. The band captures the essence of the above mentioned bands in utter magnificence. I was not prepared to hear an album with this many guitar solos; they are all over the place here. This is vintage progressive tech death metal, and at times, Cryoxyd, becomes a little too heady for its own good. The talent displayed on this album is jaw-dropping and can be a bit much for some people. Now we are not talking 1,000 BPM tech death metal; I am speaking of some of the non-linear, proggy, poly-rhythmic, jazz fusion elements. I find it amazing, since there are many catchy elements, and this album transports me literally to 1991 when I listened to Testimony of the Ancients, from Pestilence, and fell to the ground. Excellent album, and Cryoxyd is an exciting new band. Get this now!