With a very similar color palette, on the cover, like their last release, these newer cover designs, I feel, are a good look for the band. Shows some maturity, and these three songs, at least a few of them, will be in their upcoming tour setlist, with Hatebreed, for sure. Brad Fincher – drums, Ruben Rosas – vocals, Dave Spencer – bass all welcome to the fold, Marvin Ruiz, on guitars. Marvin is no lightweight when it comes to guitar work, as he is the guitarist for another brutal Texas death metal band – Stabbing! Marvin has now been with Devourment for a few short years and has the Devourment, slamtastic guitar sound down!

The title track opens with a film clip, which I think is the movie Evil Dead. Once the music hits, Brad gets into a monster blast beat, and Ruben’s vocals sound sooo vomitrocious. I love the filth. Clogged sewer pipe stylized brutality. There is an early slam, then right into a monster blast beat, equipped with 90’s era brutal pinch harmonics. I really enjoy Marvin putting in those harmonics, as it ties together some of the earlier material of Devourment. The mid-paced moments with the double bass will collapse chest cavities all over.. Once the slower slam hits at the 2.48 mark, this will level pits, on their tour. This is a most excellent song, and those sharp harmonics, towards the end of the song, will eviscerate your flesh, right off your skeleton.

“Mortiferous Dependency” has monstrous blasts and then creeping slams, and the moment at the 30-second slam will level your neighborhood. I know. I saw your neighborhood and it looks like shit after this EP was blasted. The slam gets even slower and is just monstrous. The mid-paced moments are so bludgeoning that it may cause you to start punching holes in things. I wrecked a few houses while listening to this EP. One of the finest songs Devourment has written.

“Advanced Stage Decomposition” is crucial in the beginning, with vocals getting zoomed right in. This monstrous opening slam could cause a ruckus at the local five and dime, so keep your stereo at an acceptable volume. The slam at the 1.10 section is the Holy Shit moment. You know, with the quick buildup, it is about to hit. And son…does it ever hit. It’s so heavy it may cause the brown note in you. Brad tosses in a nice blast with a few tasty drum fills, as well. The 2.20 slam is yet another crushing wave of brutality!!

Geez! Pious Impiety is one helluva brutal slam release from Devourment. The three songs are so strong that they should rotate them all in and out of their sets on their upcoming shows. These songs are tight, played with precision, are brutal, and the slams hit and keep on hitting. There is no let up on this release. You have no time to catch your breath and that is what Devourment wanted to do. Especially with all these younger whipper snapper slam bands putting out release after release after release. But the masters have returned to basically say, F You all, we are here and we will continue to slay nonstop. Literally, a breathtaking display of how brutal slam should be written and produced!

You have to hand it to the lone remaining founding member/ drummer Dave Astor; he is certainly persistent and keeps shuffling lineups and releasing albums on multiple labels, even with all the above he’s seemingly settled on a somewhat stable lineup for a few albums now (Obie Flet on vocals, Dan Richardson in Guitars, Ricky Jackson on bass.

And now on Agonia Records, and while the label and lineups change, the quality of Pathology’s sneakily melodic brutal death metal/slam is as consistent as ever, as Unholy Descent sees the band continue to deliver the goods.

A number of staff have covered the band’s releases since 2011’s Awaken to the Suffering, to 2021’s The Everlasting Plague. Myself included with 2019’s Reborn to Kill. And when I dug through all the reviews, one thing stood out; there wasn’t a bad review in the bunch, although 2017s Self Titled effort was considered below par for the band’s output.

Well, album number 12 certainly stays the course as it is another fine pathology album, arguably one of the top ones in their career.

The formula is as solidly consistent as the last 9-10 efforts; traditional US brutal death metal/slam, but with just a little melody here and there, and now with some new, minimal orchestration as well ( intro, “Cult of the Black Triangle”)

From “Cult of the Black Triangle” to “A World Turned to Ashes”, Unholy Descent is a Pathology album. Nothing more nothing less. The slams slam (i.e. “Psychotronic Abominations”, “Archon”, “Malevolent Parasite’), the blasts blast (i.e. “Diabolical Treachery”), and the little harmonies (leads, etc) here and there keep things interesting (i.e. “Hermatic Gateways”, “Whispers of the Djinn”, “Diabolical Treachery”, “Demons in the Aether”, “Apostles of Fire”,”A World Turned to Ashes”) and not just a mere Devourment clone, like many of their peers.

Zach Ohren’s (another consistency for a few albums now) recording is perfect- heavy and clear and a perfectly rendered delivery system for Pathology’s expertly crafted 12th studio album.

Hailing from Oakland California the band has been around a few years. Their notable releases are the Demo-nic Possession demo from 2020, Flayed Alive EP in 2021, and their debut album in 2022 Left Out to Rot. The band has returned with Hooked, a self-released album that is a brief 22 minutes contained within 7 songs.

I’m a big fan of Ohio’s Sanguisugabogg and their brand of death metal. I find a lot of similarities between these two bands who have been around roughly the same amount of time. Sanguisugabogg started out with a variety of different beatdown chugging slams and old school 90’s death metal, and have now focused more on making chugging their central focus. Iron Front’s newest album, Hooked, follows some of that same trajectory, as the band even has the ‘Bogg tinny popping snare drum sound that Erik “The Enforcer”, truly loves. In some ways this album hits as hard, if not harder than Sanguisugabogg’s last album, maybe because I find this a tad catchier and slammier.

“Dissolved In Resin” erupts out of the starting gates with an isolated guitar riff and this song immediately starts out with this Holy Shit moment. Because I know what is coming…Boom, right after that riff, right into a monster slam…I’ll say, Iron Front needs to open their live sets with this song, now!! Make that yesterday, because then right after the slam, right into a blast beat, and for this type of music I am ok with the snare sound, it does not bother me. It cuts through all the heaviness quite nicely. The various stop-and-start guitar riffing and chugging at the 3-minute marker will collapse chest cavities as Topey Plourde’s filthy growls are all over the place on this song. I am loving the shit outta this. The band is also rounded out by: Dmitri Castillo Russel – Bass, Max Mahmood – Drums, Jesse Dicrutattalo/ Cruz Garcia – Guitars.

“Slug Rounds” is up next and the slams and gutturals toward the end of this song, after the scorching blast beats, you’re going to want to punch things multiple times, over and over and over and over….and over again. If you like bacon, then “Pig Splitter” will be just what the Doctor ordered for you. Blast beats to start then the song settles into a punishing groove with gnarly filthy vocals, putrid. The 1.50 gallop reminded me of Mortician, in some respects, then right back into the chugging beatdown, then right into the Mortician like gallop, think of the song “Slaughterhouse” or “Slaughtered”, the beginning, with that unearthly heaving gallop. Such a great song.

The title track offers up a nice nod to the Mortal Kombat video game, you’ll know it once you hear it and the 1.25 section will create massive circle pits all damn day and I enjoy the band using pinch harmonics throughout this release, bringing in that classic NYDM sound of the 90’s.

“Intestinal Siphon” has a great opening isolated bass guitar moment before the groove hits and at the 38 second part that groove gets into a slower chug and it’s really catchy and I can envision karate kicks and picking up change moments in the pit. This song has some excellent growls and vocals erupting all over the place, with some kick ass guitar riffing. These great moments continue throughout the song and the rest of the album too. This is knuckle-dragging caveman brutality and quite honestly, while some of these moments were prevalent on their other releases I really notice more of the ‘Bogg influence on this album. I wonder if maybe they have played shows together? Regardless this is how you start off 2024 folks.

Iron Front’s Hooked contains no fancy-schmancey intros, just bludgeoning the listener with brutal kick ass down-tuned chugging slamming death metal. This fucking killz!