I totally blame my fellow scribes for my newfound love for Deathcore/Slam and all things BROOTLE. So naturally, when I hit play on Subjected to a Partying, I wasn’t too surprised to hear such spastic bursts of bile-gurgling vocals and squeals that would make a sow horny as fuck. I thought Gutalax’s vocals were crazy… Jesus fucking Christ!

“Parisian Bed Bug” comes lurching out of the barn like a crack-smoking Sasquatch; full of samples and enough knuckle-dragging riffs to shake a stick at. Plus, they sample David Vincent, so that’s pretty cool. Also, that’s a nasty snare sound, you’ve got there, Mr. Martin Gazur, this guy is a fucking beast behind the kit.

Track numero dos is the sexy as fuck “Thirst Trap”. It’s so nuts, and they probably had a blast recording this EP. “High Tariff Behavior “ has this otherworldly, badass riff slap dab in the middle of the goddamn song, and an absolutely ridiculous level of brutal shenanigans is being gotten up to here.

Final song (not really) is “Improper Use of a Speculum” it’s a no-holds-barred fist to the kidneys. I love this song… You know what else I love? Remixes. Yessir, you read that right. That’s because tracks 5-9 are remixes of the first four songs. Clever lads, very clever. The good news is that these remixes absolutely do not suck.

“Thirst Trap (Kmac2021 remix)” sounds like what would happen if you threw a Casio keyboard and a cat into a dryer. It’s unrelenting and Drum and Bass-y as fuck! Yeah, these are Techno remixes. Pick your jaw up off the floor when you’re listening to “Low IQ Behaviour (Frontier remix)” and lower your voice when you mention the “High Tariff Overture (Ritual remix)” because its ominous shadow will overpower you quicker than you can say vaporized weed.

Finally, there are two live tracks, “High Tariff Behaviour (Live in Glasgow 2025)” and “Human Slime (Live in Glasgow 2025)”. Maybe you were there, maybe you weren’t; so if you weren’t, then you know now what your friends that were there are talking about.

I’ll be checking into their back catalog, that’s for certain. Party Cannon and this splatter-ific EP called Subjected to a Partying have awakened a warm and fuzzy feeling at the base of my brain. I’m fine, really.

If you like this sort of thing, then you probably like Gutalax, Dead and Dripping, Sanguisugabogg, and Internal Bleeding. So, get off your ass, go to the bathroom, and order this one while taking a satisfying shit. Oh, and if I didn’t mention the ridiculously killer cover art, I should rip my eyes out for not doing so. Do yourself, your neighbors, and the world a favor by picking this up; you’ll be glad you did.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but original vocalist Duane Duarte was let go after some alleged questionable behavior (though they still released Hunger with him on it), leaving guitarist Tre Purdue as the lone remaining member. In comes Ian Smith from The Archaic Epidemic to replace Duarte, Thomas O’Malley from Ingested on guitars, and original drummer Leo Mclain (Psycho-Frame, ex Immortal Disfigurement) comes back in the fold. But most importantly, Purdue went out and got Harry Tadayon to help out with guitars (he helped out on Hunger) and orchestration.

Now, Tadayon has quickly become a hot, Francesco Ferrini-like commodity in the scene, doing orchestration for the likes of Ov Ruin, Synestia, and Heir of Fire. He also has his own bands, Vile Sycophant and Hate Within, as well as served some time in Immortal Disfigurement. Dude does absolutely stunning compositions and orchestration, so I was excited to see what he brought to Worm Shepherd. And I wasn’t disappointed.

Worm Shepherd were one of the genre’s top bands before this new lineup, and as you’d expect, Tadayon and co deliver. The 5 songs to introduce the new lineup, delve a little more into the more controlled atmospheric side of The Sleeping Sun EP from 2023, but also do plenty of the genre’s Lorna Shore-heavy tropes, as they have done since 2020’s In The Wake Ov Sol.

All 5 songs are, of course, heavily, heavily orchestral, with Tadayon in top form, delivering a massive layer of dramatic symphonic and choral bombast to the now well-copied template of massive Lorna Shore breakdowns and blackened blast beats.

From the dramatic opener “The Omen”, through the shorter, moody “Feast”, and waltz-y lurch of “Sanctified Rot” to the EP’s centerpiece, the killer,  7+ minute closer “Whispers of a Buried Land”, this lineup is locked in and delivers top-notch examples of the genre. The album’s endcap will certainly stand as one of the best songs in the genre for the year, even having some Lorna Shore-ish moments of melody and emotion built in, as well as the now requisite, huge breakdown that gets slower and heavier.

That said, with sooooooo many bands doing this style now (and well), I have to be honest, with the genre’s saturation going on for a while, they all are starting to sound a bit too similar, especially ones with Tadayon. Frankly, if a song by Synestia, Vile Sycophant, Ov Ruin, Heir of Fire, or Worm Shepherd (or countless other non-Tadayon bands) came on my playlist, I have to look to see which project/band it is.

It still doesn’t stop me from really enjoying all of it; I’m just curious as to who will be the band that tries something just a little different, rather than follow the Lorna Shore template so rigidly.

She should have stayed, though, because this new album scratches a lot of specific itches. No disrespect, but if you were only “whelmed” by TBDM’s Servitude in 2024, this might cause you to sit up straight and listen. The first track I’ll mention, “1912,” is far from worship with its clean vocals to begin and the background symphonics, but once they end, the song truly gets going with the mix of high and low vocal approaches we’ve all come to expect. Those symphonics continue through most of the song, and there’s even a bass drop around the 3:00 mark. A couple of tasty solos later, and we’re moving along.

Carrion Vael continues to employ the symphonics well, which means restraint, such as on “Black Chariot,” the final song. Their usage gives each chorus a grandiloquent feel but certainly doesn’t take away from the bludgeoning. I won’t lie and tell you their approach has a lot of tricks other bands of the same sub-genre don’t also use, but there’s far more confidence and bombast.

Along these same lines is “40 Echoes Upon the Parlor.” It begins with a breakneck-speed main riff, which transitions into grandiose clean vocals in the chorus. These vocals almost veer into what I’ve called “goblin cleans.” You’ll know what I mean immediately. It’s the best hook on the album with the symphonics in the background and double bass accompaniment.

At this point of the review and perhaps impressions from the cover art, you might be asking yourself, “Well, where’s all the barbarian cock, forehead-slapping heaviness?” It’s in “19(fucking)78.” Oh, but there’s singing here as well, with an epic chorus to open the album. There’s even a spoken word section, so we’re still not lacking in variety. This is a mission statement if I’ve ever heard one, with the blazing fast riffs, kicks, and all the other elements creating a synergy that tells you exactly what you’re about to receive for the next 42 minutes.

I have only two complaints, and they are incredibly minor. One has nothing to do with the music. My first is that even within the variety displayed, it’s the same variety in each song. If that isn’t making sense, it means the band has a lot of great tricks, but they use almost all of them in the same way, song-by-song. Once again, however, those tricks are brilliant, so they are minor.

The final complaint is more of an observation. You guys had to get that barbarian cock on the cover, didn’t you? Considering the accompanying weaponry, an intelligent barbarian would do himself well to keep that particular sword in its sheath. Regardless, Slay Utterly is a certified, stamped, sealed, and delivered banger to start 2026, and will be repeated because of it for the rest of the year.

Much has transpired since the last album. Guitarist Mikkel Sørensen hired a whole new band. Jimmy Christensen on bass, Jon Arent – guitars, Lasse Kristensen – drums, and Alexander Kristensen on vox. This is the perfect release to reintroduce this band to the masses.

“Psychosomatic Desynchronization” opens with a slight intro, transitioning into a double-pounding speed. The groove erupts with pig filthy clogged sewer-pipe stylized vocals. The groove is excellent and the double pounding returns with pig squeals and some spliced in shouted sound byte. The varying tempo shifts are great, especially the groove at the 2.44 section with another clever sound bite, signaling the listener about this slam. This is about as heavy as a slam can get. Brutal.

“Suspended from a Single Strand of Sanity” has too many S’s in the title, but starts off with killer and pig squeal vocals all over, blast beats, and then this mid-paced groove, which is ass-kicking. Another shouted part, these moments remind me of their label mates, PeelingFlesh. I could actually see Guttural Slug bringing in that gangsta style hip/hop flair, to a greater degree, on the next release. A variety of wonderful burps and growls all over the place, and the slam at the 2.54 timestamp is how you end a song. This is a huge pit moment. You know, in a live setting, I would play this song and immediately play this title track right after it.

The title track directly opens with a pit-heaving slam. I think it would be nifty to have a song end with the brutal slam and then the start of the next song with a brutal slam, in a live environment, just as the songs are tracked on this EP. It works to the benefit of the band and is super killer. There are plenty of pig snorts, squeals, and fart like vocals on this. “Mind to the Millstone” is just shy of three minutes, but no less brutal than the rest of the songs. Lots of guttural vocals and super heavy riffs. I mean, you get the point at this juncture of what to expect.

Guttural Slug is not reinventing the brutal slam genre, and Ulcers in the Flesh of Thought EP is not unlike anything you have heard, thus far, in this genre. Originality?!, I mean, there is none, and when I listen to this style of death metal, I already know that going in. It’s like when I read reviews for Godzilla movies, and there is so much negativity about how it’s not real, or that was impossible in the movie??? I am like ‘hey dummies, it’s a movie about made-up monsters obliterating everything, so you leave your brain at the door, and enjoy the movie and effects’.

It’s the same with this style of death metal. I leave my brain at the door. I want to be bludgeoned into submission and just want knuckle-dragging slams so I can curl heavier weights at the gym. Pretty simple. Nice slamming brutality on this ep!

I have reviewed their last several releases, and hot on the heels of The G Code debut album, last September, they return with the PF Radio 2 EP. The band has been on some hot tours over the past year, and that will continue into 2026. As I have previously stated, in prior reviews, I cannot get enough of this band with their urban hip hop/rap influence embedded into their brutal slam death metal. This ep is no exception.

10 songs with intros/outros. After the intro, “Redacted” erupts with a mid-paced groove equipped with filthy gutturals, hip hop spoken word vocals, and a plethora of well-placed growls. Some cool samples inserte,d and that minute marker slam gets even slower at the 1.30 time stamp. It will be non-stop karate kicks in the pit, so you may wanna stand in the back or risk getting a busted nose. The song is super short and flows right into “Channel Zero”. Opening with a sound sample, this mutha effer slides ride into a monster slam and check out the guitar tone!!! Oofa, it’s amazing, as are the pinch harmonics. Well-placed hip hop vocals signify this sucker is about to go atom bomb with a slam. PeelingFlesh delivers a monstrous slam that will lop heads off by the bucketloads. This song gets even slower with the slam and guitar sounds. More ass-kicking growls, pinch harmonics, and a bludgeoning slamtastic section putting veterans of this style on notice. If you’re not going to have a bombastic production and/or have heaving and monstrous slams alongside some original components, then the newer bands will leave you all in the dust. So reinvent yourselves or something, ‘cause these newer slam bands are owning the scene now!

“Holdin” features Jason Frazier of Corpse Pile and CC from Algor Mortis. After a bluesy hip hop opening section, that isolated guitar riff and growl go right into a slow section, and not a blast, like I thought. More hip hop slang coming our way, then the 1.15 slam groove just moves houses off city blocks far and wide. The hopping slam gets slower, and the guest spots are stupendous by more up-and-coming stars in the scene. Phase shifter effects ignite, prior to an even more vicious slam. There really is no rest for the wicked (RIP OZZY), as the songs continue to slaughter us one by one.

“D.V.P.B.” has a nifty urban intro and then the guitar riff says hello…WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP….as the excruciatingly heavy AF mid-paced slam disrupts the flow of gravity…… JFC, this moment is killer.

PF Radio 2 ep is yet another homerun of a release from PeelingFlesh, who are just shredding the competition. Their rise in popularity and getting great tours is well deserved. Alongside other newcomers like Corpse Pile and BodyBox, PeelingFlesh has it going on!! Heavy, creative, slammy, catchy and extremely fun!!!

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.

However, Larcenia Roe‘s sound is much more of a grimier, beat down, and at times even an industrial take on deathcore with lots of samples/programming and more discordant elements than symphonic or orchestral hues. Like Dead/Awake or Black Tongue, but with tetanus.

Unique leader, subsequently signed them and re-released the EP in 2024, and now we have the duo’s full-length debut, which continues the band’s more abrasive, squealing, gnarly take on deathcore.

It’s only 30 minutes or so, but that’s perfect for this sort of self-punishing, loathsome, hateful discordance. Of course, it leans heavily into massive, menacing breakdowns like “Eggy Mess”, “Fleshy Brine”, “Lip Split”, “Cary Aint no Raliegh”, “Creepy Closer “Lullaby (Special)”, and…… well, let’s be honest, all 10 numbers. And the guitar tone is just disgusting, so when listening to the album, you kind of feel like the guy on the album’s cover.

The only sort of outlier is the 5-minute penultimate track “Happy Fingers”, which has some blackened influences and even some melody lines and acoustic bridge about halfway through, which shows these guys are capable of things to then ripping for teeth out with pliers (don’t get me wrong,  it still has disgusting breakdowns and vocals for its second half).

That all said, the show stopper is Ryan Vail (who is now the new vocalist for killer orchestral deathcore project Synestia), who simply sounds inhuman are every turn. I’m not sure what, if any, effects are used, but all of his burps, bleghs, hacks, growls, and screeches are just fucking nasty. He does get a little help on some tracks from Dustin Mitchell of Filth, Lwandile Prusent of Vulvodynia, and Alex Koehler, formerly of Chelsea Grin, but Extraction is his show, and I’m super excited to see what he brings to Synestia.

After delivering their debut in 2021’s The Codex of Flesh, Crown Magnetar has grown into a monster in the scene with 3 EPs and 2023 sophomore crusher, Everything Bleeds. And there is no time for mercy as the 4 songs here continue with what Everything Bleeds built upon. Pure fucking devastation.

There’s no doubt in my mind that these 18 minutes, along with Whitechapel’s new album, will comprise some of 2025’s most brutal music (at least as far as Deathcore). It’s absolutely relentless, largely due to Dan Tucker’s monstrous bellows but also due to the sheer heft delivered on the likes of all four tracks. Notably the last two songs, “Bringer of Dead Light” and “Decapitation Ritual”, with a closeout/breakdown that will bring you to your knees.

It’s not all breakdowns as openers “Barbed Wire Noose” and “Nailed the Fuck Down”  could go toe to toe with the likes of Benighted or Aborted at times, but ultimately, every song leaves a path of destruction in its wakes as Crown Magnetar continues to stomp on the throat of the deathcore genre.

Well, Like Lorna Shore back in 2020 with Immortal, Worm Shepherd‘s third album was already mostly recorded before the vocalist issues. The band (or lone remaining member Tre Purdue) decided to release the album with Duarte on vocals and add some session folks to help out with Harry Tadayon (ex-Immortal Disfigurement)  and Mental Cruelty‘s Nahuel Lozano on drums to help recording. However, it’s clear the band ( and their third logo) is now a studio project only (and a gentleman by the name of ‘The Orc King’ from Infectorium has been tapped as the new vocalist).

With The Sleeping Sun EP, released earlier in 2024, I felt a style shift coming with much more extensive use of clean vocals and slower moodier songs, and I’m glad to report that Hunger manages to merge the elements from the EP as well as their continued top-notch blacked deathcore into a stellar third album.

The band’s already established sound which is influenced by peers like Lorna Shore (Immortal era) and such, is perfected here. Make no mistake, much like bands like Enemies Everywhere and such they are doing the Lorna Shore blacked deathcore sound with nigh an original note, but they are clearly one of the best bands at it.

Not quite as orchestral or choir-filled as A Wake in Providence, but with the same sense of dramatic, building symphonic bombast, Worm Shepherd’s structural blackened deathcore backbone is solid, and when they get a little moodier such as parts of opener “The Anguished Throne, (where Duarte really shows how good he was) “Illuminate Oblivion”,  “He Who Breathes Fire”, the prior EPs hues shine through, even if Duarte’s clean vocals still don’t hit quite right (Purdue has come out publically saying that the band is done with clean vocals after Duarte’s departure).

Excellent tracks like “He Who Breathes Fire”, the very Meshuggah-ish title track, and the dramatic “The Whistles in the Cold”  and “Of Ruin and Banishment” all deliver the goods for fans of the genre like me, with ample bombast and huge crumbling, now standard breakdowns. But it’s the last third of the album where Worm Shepherd really shows off their ability.

The absolutely blistering standout “A Harrowing Dawn”, brutally gorgeous “The Waters of Lethe” and epic, contemplative 8-minute “And at the End of Fear, Silentium” while not related, come close to matching the gravitas of “Pain Remains” trilogy of songs from Lorna Shore‘s Pain Remains album.

Back in my review of A Wake In Providence‘s stunning I Write To You, My Darling Decay, I wondered who the Big 4 of Blackened Deathcore would be. I ultimately decided that A Wake in Providence should be the fourth act to join Lorna Shore, Shadow of Intent, and Mental Cruelty. But with Hunger, I question who I kick out to make room for Worm Shepherd. Or maybe it’s just a Big 5 now?

The G Code is quite possibly the slammiest album I have heard in a long time and therefore this even surpasses the new Cephalotripsy, which I recently reviewed.  Also if you’re not the biggest fan of the snare drum loud pop sound, such as what Sanguisugabogg utilizes, this drum sound may also turn you off.

PeelingFlesh know how to deliver memorable songs in short periods of time and I have all of their prior material, as well.  11 songs in a brisk 26 minutes, the opening song simply titled “Intro” gets things underway with some sound clips and right into the brutal slam, used on many deathcore bands song openers.  The guttural growl at the 1.06 gets things going and the vocals are just killer.  The hip-hop vocals enter right at the brutal beat down slam, after the gutturals and this is just so damn catchy and PeelingFlesh to the max….but even better.

“Shoot 2 Kill” starts with a monstrous slam and right into the pig-squeal gutturals.  The mid-paced rumbling double bass gets things going, then the urban sound clips and right make into the slam.  Pinch harmonics enter here and there and there are even some guitar harmonies happening.  The 1.47 isolated hip-hop vocals come in and the pinch harmonics start squealing right into the slam.  The vocals change to the gutturals until the isolated sound clip and reverberated hip-hop/rap vocals come in and the slam gets even slower and heavier.  This part is one of the best sections the band has ever crafted.  This part just fucking stomps!!

“Perc 3000” has DJ MRD on the song therefore get prepared to listen to brutal slam hip-hop record scratching music on several sections of the song.  Mixed in with the ultra-heavy brutal slam music, really creates an immersive listening experience.  Listen on headphones/AirPods, to see what I am referring to.  The multitude of some spoken section samples are not only hysterical, but right into those slam moments – ahhhh so much frickin’ fun.  More of the record scratching happens at the end of the song and this is just a wild ride.

“Barbarianism” has massive slams and hip-hop/rap vocal lines, mixed in with the guttural pig-squeals, believe it or not – it works!  The song gets into a mighty blast beat and super stop and start two-step beat down slam.  This song has to be in their live set.  Bodies on bodies, on bodies on bodies!!!  “Creepin’ Out the Cut” features Unique Leader Records Executive and vocal legend Matti Way.  Combined with the PeelingFlesh vocals and rap spoken word vocals and slamtastic music, this is yet another great song.

The G Code is excellently produced with the rap sounds merging with the brutal slam death metal and a variety of samples – perfectly.  The mix is spot on and the sound is heavy.  This is the best production PeelingFlesh has achieved and that’s not to say their other eps/comps did not sound good, they sounded great.  This is just extra!

This genre of hip-hop/rap infused brutal slam death metal is starting to gain steam with artists such as Infectious Jelqing and the like, erupting with this new extreme death metal genre.  With Hip-Hop star Kendrick Lamar getting the nod to preside over the forthcoming Superbowl halftime special, maybe he should contact PeelingFlesh to perform with him – ha ha.

I love this album, it is soooo much fun.

The signing to Unique Leader Records propelled the band as well and put the band in front of everyone’s eyes, especially with all the indiemerch drops for that album.  The band was able to come to the United States to tour and the band blew up big time for their bludgeoning live performances.  I really enjoyed the band combining brutal death metal, alongside their deathcore leanings.

Last year the band parted ways with long-time vocalist Duncan Bentley, as it came to light he was a pretty violent dude, so the band and fans claimed.  The dude did have quite a set of impressive pipes.  Guitarist, Lwandile Prusent, took over the vocals last year and this fifth album Entabeni, sees his debut vocal work.  So how does he and the rest of the band sound on this new album? Read on my fellow metalhead to find out.

“Imbawula” opens the album and is a one-minute instrumental to get things pumping and it goes along quite nicely to the next song “Devil Tree”.  Prusent’s vocals are definitely influenced by Bentley’s vocals, but his screechy high pitched tones do grate on my nerves quite a bit. His lower register gutturals are very good, indeed, however I do prefer their prior vocalist’s tones.  The drum sound at the 2.40 section has a djent style to it, something they started to experiment with on the last album.  This sound actually sounds quite a bit like “Bleed”, from Meshuggah.  This moment is heavy AF with plenty of tempo shifts and the signature bass plucking guitar and the guitar tone is cleaned up a bit more this time around.  Very good song.

“The Rand Lord” is up next beginning with a monstrous groove that is super heavy, before the blasting comes into the picture.  The song gets into a mid-paced groove which I can see a live crowd bee-bopping up and down.  The faster moment comes in afterwards.  There are some very interesting guitar solos at the end of the song, showing the band having a melodic sound and this part works rather well.  The song is another good song…still not grabbing my attention, as much as I want though.

“Mamlambo” starts things off with a nice groove and sharp pinch harmonics all over the place.  This opening and mid-paced moment is excellent.  The faster blasting erupts then back into the groove.  One thing Vulvodynia does so well is their tempo shifts and also unafraid to return to a catchy riff.  This is precisely what they do after the blasting, right back into that catchy pinch harmonic part.  Some more melodic guitar harmonies towards the ends which are all intertwined with the bludgeoning brutality.  This is an ass-kicking song from start to finish. The title track is a slower bludgeoning number and at times the speed erupts with some wild guitar solos.  This is more of a tank-driven heavy bruising number which is also excellent.  I definitely feel the second half of the album is more memorable than the first half.

Entabeni is a really good Vulvodynia album.  The band continues with their deathcore leanings quite a lot, but also adding more melody which is very cool to hear, especially since the band are a pretty brutal band.  The talent is definitely there with this band.  I prefer their previous album, because from start to finish each song was memorable and catchy.  This album does not have as many of those parts, with some of the songs kinda just whizzing by without staying power.  Overall I do enjoy this, just wanted to like it a bit more.

I do intros, but luckily Extinction A.D. doesn’t. On the opening track, “Desperate Grasp,” the first riff is basically a breakdown. Fitting nicely into that crossover thrash sub-genre, if you’re a fan of Enforced, Power Trip, Spiritworld, and many others like them, you’ll enjoy this, and it accurately portrays most of the rest of the album.

“Epidemic of Mutation” is another banger a couple of tracks later. At about 50 seconds, there’s a brief pinch harmonics section, and I’m all about it. Around 2 minutes, the harmonics come back. Then comes a great solo. The main riff itself is quite heavy and will elicit some windmill headbanging.

Immediately following is “Apocalypse Rising” with its crunchy riff. It’s one of the longer tracks, but that just means it’s over minutes. The main riff is nasty. You know the “filthy riff” face. It may have crept across mine. In my opinion (obviously), this happens frequently on To the Detested. What should also be of note across the entire album is the tuneful, sometimes bordering on epic guitar solos. The one on display here may be the best on the album, especially when it’s over that main riff.

One track that will certainly get people talking is “Burnt Sienna.” There’s a brief documentary on YouTube regarding its origins rooted in Bomba Music. If you’re not familiar, it will be immediately apparent when the track begins. To say it’s a departure would be an understatement. I was surprised when I first heard it, but once I saw the documentary, it clicked. I highly recommend it.

The closing track is called “The Cure or the Cause,” and it follows the same infectious energy as the rest of the album. I have to point out that it’s difficult for me to think of an album this year that has so many infectious, heavy riffs. There’s also a well-placed “Ough” in the breakdown, which warms the Cold Lake of my Tom G. Warrior heart. Don’t hate me for that one.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m happy with the results of the new album. I still haven’t done myself the service of digging through Extinction A.D.’s back catalog. That’s something I must rectify. We’ll see if I do it before the next one. While I haven’t heard it, I could not be more confident it kicks just as much ass as what I have heard.

But I’m going with A Wake in Providence. I toyed with it after Eternity, but I Write To You, My Darling Decay absolutely fucking cements it.

On 2022’s Eternity, they showed they were not just ‘the band Lorna Shore’s Will Ramos used to be in’, as it was just a notch below Pain Remains for the best album of the year in my opinion. And now, moving pretty quickly to the follow-up, the deeply dramatic I Write To You, My Darling Decay, the band has shown Eternity wasn’t a fluke with an album that is just a cripplingly epic example of the blackened deathcore genre, and probably the bar to beat in 2024 and maybe beyond.

Everything has been turned to 11 here and I mean really cranked up. Especially the choral and orchestral arrangements which rival Fleshgod Apocalypse with the use of soprano opera vocalists to enhance the deeply personal story. Founder and guitarist D’Andre Tyre also has increased the use of clean vocals to complement Adam Mercer’s growls. But the clean vocals work here and complement all the emotional gravitas throughout the album. Downfall of Mankind could learn something here about clean vocals.

I Write To You, My Darling Decay is a special album, one that’s going to be hard to top in 2024, both in the genre or in any metal. And frankly, I’m not sure how the band even tops it as this is clearly their Master of Puppets or Reign in Blood, and comes close to matching Pain Remains as far as being a true, new genre classic.

Where do I even start? I already mentioned the increased Fleshgod levels of bombastic cinema-quality orchestral and choral arrangements that are emotional, dramatic, and truly breathtaking fitting the album’s story of pain and loss. The huge, brass and string Hans Zimmer moments and soprano vocal moments hit so hard it hurts. The songs are better written and more engaging than Eternity (which was brilliant in itself) and you can tell this is a deeply personal album for Tyre. The somber crooning choruses complement the blasting riffs and huge breakdowns (It is still deathcore after all), but it’s through a classical music lens the whole time (I mean listen to the interlude “Agony, My Familiar”). 

Single tracks are hard to break down here as, like movements of a symphony, the songs sort of blend and meld into each other seamlessly. In truth, the album plays better as one single hour-long movement rather than 10 songs. But certainly “Mournful Benediction” (with Shadow in Intent‘s Ben Duer helping out) “Agonofinis”, “In Whispers”, and the closer “I, the Mournful” standout and serve relisten to truly absorb everything that’s happening. Even the album’s almost 8-minute more moody title track delivers a deathcore gut punch with wilting emotional heft and depth

While Lorna Shore appears content to continue milking the momentum of 2022’s Pain Remains, the band that is forever tied to Lorna Shore due to vocalist Will Ramos, and who released the second-best album in the genre that same year in Eternity, is not content to sit on their 2022 album.  Instead, they have arguably released one of the best albums of 2024 and maneuvered into the conversation as the best band in the genre.

Well, with No Name Graves, McLaughlin and co, particularly vocalist Tyler Beam have gotten even darker and are leaning even further into the downtempo. With a biblical Caelan Stokkermans cover (Lorna Shore, The Acacia Strain, A Wake in Eternity, The Voynich Code,  Crown Magnetar) and song titles like “Doomsday Death Machine, “Thirst for Extinction” and “Broken Glass Incantation”, it’s clear the band is getting away from some of their nu-metal tropes in favor of a much darker, heavier visage. In fact, I’m pretty comfortable putting these guys comfortably in the same ballpark as Black Tongue, Bound In Fear, and definitely The Acacia Strain, even the doomier stuff like It Comes In Waves, and Failure Will Follow.

Just listen to the opener  “All of Humanity, The Sum”, “Letania Infernalis” (with Suffocation’s Ricky Myers), the title track (with Sanguisugabogg’s Devin Swank), “Doomsday Death Trap” or “Saint No More” (with Ben Mason of Bound in Fear) where those slower moody, lumbering down-tempo riffs just beat you into submission with downtempo grooves from the bowels of hell. Vocalist Tyler Beam in particular seems to have settled into a very commanding bellow and growl, not unlike earlier Alex the Terrible (Slaughter to Prevail).

Every song on No Name Graves is a complete fucking bruiser, even if the band does still have the occasional blast beat and deathcore-styled breakdown and trope (“Body of a Bastard”, “Broken Glass Incantation”, “Thirst for Extinction”). But certainly, this is a much, much more menacing and dread-inducing version of TLTSOF. This is exemplified in the last two tracks; “Debt to the Dark” with a foreboding stomp and more sinister spoken word vocals and the closer “Thirst for Extinction” where after some early blasting and squealing from their past, the track’s final throes are absolutely devastating.

I love this style shift for these guys. I saw them right live right before Covid and nothing really stood out from any other band on the bill or in deathcore at the time, but with this far more foreboding sound, they appear to be back in the saddle as a player in the US deathcore/downtempo scene.

Kairos is being branded as the band’s fourth full-length album, which is somewhat misleading.  Back in February 2023, they released a five-song EP called Chronos, which was quite bludgeoning and a release I enjoyed immensely.  As I write this, beginning of December 2023, after the seventh song, “Guardian”, the five-song EP, Chronos, are the last 5 songs, therefore this release is 7 songs, not 12 songs of brand new material.  This review is solely based on these new seven songs – wanted to get that out of the way early on.

“A Great Nothing” starts off with a nice heavy opening buildup and then once Ricky Roper lets out a killer growl the song gets into a mid-paced bludgeoning equipped with terrific-sounding drums, courtesy of Danny Yates.  The song gets into the beatdown deathcore groove with a variety of vocal tones from higher register screams to gutturals.  The 2-minute mark brings forth a scorching blast beat with some of the gutturals coming through very powerful as if he wants to come through the mic and eat my head – not cool….Seriously, excellent vocals and the variety of tempo shifts and the ending slam beatdown is terrific.

“White Feather” is a super ferocious number starting with terrifically fast and triggered as fuck (TAF) drums, but the double bass does hit super hard and the double bass over the insane blast beats, gives the song and these moments gravity blast beat feels.  Erupting into a killer slow down slam will have pits erupting from here to Timbuktu.

“Kardashev Denied” needs to be heard on your AirPods or headphones first, before listening to any other song on this ep.  But keep it on low, it will explode your brain.  The perfectly timed opening growl with the bludgeoning mid-paced musical opening is one for the ages.  It does not quit.  Right out the starting gates, this song is here to pick you up by your suspenders, twirl you around a few hundred times, like a tetherball, than drop you down so you can run around in circles for hours on end.  The beatdown slam is killer and then right into more vicious blast beats.  The start and stop slam with speedy double bass at the 2.30 section is here to keep all you drum trigger fans happy like a pig in slop.  Excellent low end vocals towards the end of this song are also a highlight.  Chris Keepin, alongside Ricky, provides some excellent guitar riffing with Andy Mallaby adding that extra layer of heaviness with the bass.

Kairos is excellently produced for this genre of brutal music.  Crisp, all the instruments and vocals mixed in cohesively and the production is loud AF, there’s also a few 808 bass drops on here too, in order to blow out your windows.  The last several Osiah releases have had some very cool and colorful covers.  The artwork here is black/grey/white, going for a different theme, but no less striking.  Osiah are on fire with these last few releases and is an exciting band who are progressing as songwriters as well as not letting up on the gas pedal.

Fast Forward to present-day release of Daemonium to see the album contains none of the previous members from their last album on it, except for Mr. Steve Crow, of course.  The new additions this time around are: Dan Richardson, guitar, Clayton Meade, vox, Jimmy Montes, drums, and Art Malphas Paiz, bass.  Rest assured, good reader, there is no drop-off in the brutality department with this 12 song 38 minute album.  From start to finish you will barely have enough time to catch your breath.  Just look at that red demonic album cover-did you really think Condemned were going to start covering Swifty songs?

“Thee I Invoke” begins with a tiny little intro before the ruthless blasting gets underway.  Check out the brutality factor as well as Jimmy, literally starts gravity blasting.  So it’s safe to say this album opener is quite possibly one of the most brutal songs the band has crafted.  There are plenty of tempo shifts with some excellent mid-paced to slower groove sections and the bass guitar plucking is clearly audible on this album, which is what you would expect, since the scene on the west coast, is accustomed to having plucky bass guitars on those brutal death metal releases.

Clayton’s vocals are extremely brutal, ranging from extreme gutturals, to some 90’s flair death metal vocals and just all around excellent performance from Clayton, well done brother (he and I have been in touch since he joined Condemned years ago)

“Devils Feast” is a particular favorite of mine on this album.  Much of that has to do with the bludgeoning jumpy main guitar riff, that Steve and Dan, constructed.  It’s extremely catchy and the song blasts like a mofo, and then right into that mid-paced heavy AF riff, which as I explained earlier, has a bouncy feel to it.  When the music shifts from the blast to the mid-paced jumpy groove the vocals coming in are just ruthless and the drumming-so out of control, brutal and excellent.  This song must be in their upcoming live set, without a shadow of a doubt.

I love the song title of “Sigil of Belial” and the opening riff is so frickin’ heavy, it will mow you down, your neighbor’s lawn and potentially cause windows to shatter across your neighborhood when played on maximum volume.  Back to that opening riff, – one of the best riffs ever on a Condemned release.  It’s stupid heavy and catchy.

“The Divine Order of Babylon” rounds out the album with massive blasting and numerous tempo shifts and some chaotic drum rolls.  Some stupid putrid lower than whale shit types of vocals on this song, and they are disgustingly awesome.  There are plenty of pit-inducing sections on this song as well.  I always say when coming outta the starting gates with a great song, like Condemned does, you must always end with a killer song and that is precisely what Condemned did with this song.

Sometimes when there are shifts in vocalists, it can change a band.  If you miss former vocalist Sam Townsley well hey he has his brutal death metal band Parasitic and their EP they released in May Disfiguring Symmetry is so over-the-top amazing, that you need it!  Clayton’s vocals on this new Condemned album are excellent and really all the new members do phenomenal work on this.

Daemonium makes the perfect stocking stuffer for 2023, because it’s one of the best brutal death metal albums released this year!

Caelen Stokkermans cover art? Check.

Blackened Technical deathcore? Check.

Cool band moniker? Check.

Christian Donaldson (Cryptopsy) mix/master? Check

Album title I can identify with? Check.

Yeah, I’m definitely reviewing and digging this.

Portugal’s The Voynich Code is named after the Voynich Manuscript, a mysterious 15th-century codex full of images and writings that have yet to be fully decoded (I highly recommend you click the Wikipedia link above and read about it).

But more importantly, they play my favorite form of metal right now, and Insomnia is their second album, and as far as the genre goes, it’s a pretty solid entry that’s along the lines of quality as countrymate’s Downfall of Mankind and their debut Vile Birth from 2022.

Fans of symphonic/blackened deathcore (I’m not sure of the difference at this point), should already be purchasing this album, as I did as soon as I heard the first single “The Last Grain” (a bonus track on the CD version od the album). It’s got all the standard genre tropes, all done pretty solidly; technical blasts, breakdowns, orchestration, dual vocals, and like label mates Carrion Vael, a bit more of a metalcore or a The Black Dahlia Murder vibe to the guitar tone and slicing, speedier melodic riffs (i.e. “A Flicker of Life”).

Not groundbreaking by any means, but certainly very enjoyable. The orchestration (which appears to be much improved and increased since the 2017 debut album Aqua Vitae) has a nice blackened atmosphere, not super overbearing, bombastic, or dramatic, but a nice undercurrent to the leads and riffs (i.e. “Homecoming”, “Insomnia”- an instrumental track), which are a solid balance of blasts and breakdowns, though certainly, these guys are not as breakdown-obsessed as some of their peers.

All 12 tracks (including two bonus tracks), deliver the goods, and though not quite as bludgeoning as Downfall of Mankind, deliver a few standout tracks, especially in the album’s midsection and later stages with “Hell’s Black Breath”, arguably the album’s fiercest track, “The Art of War”, “A Dying Age” and “A Letter to my Future Self”.

Unique Leader has taken a few knocks for being a deathcore label of late (the recent Kraanium album should alleviate those concerns), but when they are releasing quality albums in the genre from the likes of these guys as well as Crown Magnetar, Worm Shepherd, Osiah, Bonecarver, and A Wake in Providence, they can be as deathcore a they want.

PeelingFlesh has yet to actually release a full-length album.  They release EP’s, compilations and splits.  I mean this Slamaholics Vol. 2 is their third ep this year alone.  The other one was a split with a few new songs, called Ghetto As Hell.  If you missed that one, you have to get it for one of their songs, because of the song title – “I Got Fired Today I’m Headed to the Casino”.  That is like the best frickin’ and hysterical song title I’ve heard in like, decades..

When I reviewed the band earlier in the year I described them as ‘Gangsta brutal slam death metal’.  I can’t think of any other description. There are gangsta rap excerpts and urban elements intertwined within the band’s brutal display of slam death metal.  Do you want 808 bass drops? Check.  Do you want disgustingly putrid clogged-sewer pipe guttural vocals? Check.  Do you want pure knuckle-dragging cavemen and heaving slam riffs, like Internal Bleeding, Dehumanized? Check.  The band offers up fresh elements with the urban elements, previously mentioned.  PeelingFlesh understands not to overstay the welcome of a song either.  The songs are short and in any event, due to that, hit wayyyyyyy harder than if it was a collection of 3 minute songs.

The 44-second “Simptro” opens the ep with some news announcing coming in before going right into the slam intro equipped with some vintage 90’’s guitar pinch harmonics…the intro goes right into “Make a Move” and the gutturals spewing forth will make you vomit up your egg sammich all over yerself, or spit it all over your computer screen for that matter.  The spoken word moment over the heaving slam then right into the down-tuned and mid-paced moments will have you swinging all damn day.  The opening intro and this song need to open their live sets, especially on their huge tour with Suicide Silence.

Remember I told you the band is gaining major attention….well when was the last time you heard a band get a spot on a major tour, without ever releasing a full-length album?  I cannot remember for the life of me.  This could be something PeelingFlesh has tapped into.  In order for bands to stay relevant and maybe have their music hit much harder I have been seeing bands release more ep’s and stand-alone singles since the start of COVID…so maybe this trend proved to be successful and that is why we are seeing bands, such as PeelingFlesh just release music in this format.  Nevertheless, the music is all a gut punch and “211/187” enters next with some more spoken word excerpts and then shouting deathcore-like vocals before the deathcore groove hits with the higher screaming vocals—this is going to provide a lot of sing-alongs..and their signature moments are usually when the fast spoken word moments come in, usually maybe from someone not even in the band…excerpts or something and then the gutturals and slams hit..  So …..damn hard.

“F.F.W.A.S.” is the best song on the EP and one of the best the band has ever done.  Starting with stooopid fast blasts, down-tuned gutturals and gangsta excerpts this song will hit you in the face with a 20lb salami over and over again.  The screaming chorus part where the singer barks ‘Face Fucked With A Shovel‘-is so cheeky, catchy, and rad, that once he says it you know the slam will hit and when it does look out.  The outro of Uncle Joey is also one of the most hysterical excerpts I have ever heard on any release.  Basically, Uncle Joey sounds like my friends and I in NY cursing everyone out and telling everyone to get thicker skin, stand up and stop being a wuss, all in a non-PC delivery format.

PeelingFlesh Slamaholics Vol​. ​2 is brutal hard hitting slam death metal, that is knuckle-dragging and the band knows how to craft simple, catchy, and heavy riffs and make the songs short so they hit you in the gulliver and collapse your throat in 0.0 seconds.  This ep is 11 minutes, 4 songs, an intro, instrumental and outro and I only care about quality and there is a lot of it here.  I also like that PeelingFlesh do not take themselves overly seriously, which adds to the “fun” factor while listening to them.  I have listened to this ep well over 40x, and it only came out a few days ago, by the time I decided to review it.  Awesome heavy AF band!

On the other hand, is the pure fucking beatdown of Colorado’s Crown Magnetar and their second album, Everything Bleeds. An utterly pulverizing, rip your throat up, stamp on your dick, curb-stomp a priest, and then fuck your mom take on deathcore.

This is where I usually break down the album a little bit, highlight a few songs or personal favorites, talk about the production or sometimes even gripe about some minor issues with an album. But to be honest- there’s not much point, as Everything Bleeds just knocks your teeth out from start to finish, and literally leaves no time to react or absorb.

Clocking in at barely over 30 minutes, the album starts with “Nail Funeral” and ends with “Prismatic Tomb” and while the band does have a few moments of ‘atmospherics’ (i.e. some background keyboards or short intro here and there, largely on those two opening and closing tracks and massive “The Level Beneath”) almost everything in between is just a complete and total bludgeoning (as are the aforementioned tracks, don’t be fooled by me using the words atmospheric or keyboards).

But the above numbers as well as the likes of “Hex Ov Hate”, “Everything Bleeds”, “Unholy Neck Stab”, “The Killing Stone”, “Only The Spine Remains” and “Despised from Seed” will arguably go down as 2023’s most intense pure old school deathcore. The breakdowns (and blasts for that matter) are just fucking ridiculous, especially when paired with the vocals of Dan Tucker (arguably one of the most imposing vocalists in the genre) and the clinically brutal production/mix/master of Mike Sahm.

Bonus points the for the upped levels of utterly hateful blasphemy as well, in the lyrics and artwork ( another winner from Calean Stokkermans) as well.

Ever since these Russians dropped the killer video for “Protonemesis” over a year ago. I’ve been salivating for this release, as it’s been 10 years since Serial Urbicide and the new song showed a bit of a direction shift into a more ambitious form of slam with a more Dying Fetus vibe as well as some keyboards. There has also been some lineup shuffling since Serial Urbicide with drummer Vladislav Martirosov moving to lead vocals (although he has the same guttural gurgle), replacing Valeriy Kozhemyako and Denis Poluyan coming in on drums).

So after another few singles dropped (“Corpsepit”, “Omnivore” and “Agony Incarnate”- with a video that features former vocalist Valeriy Kozhemyako), how is the album in its entirety? Well- it’s a bit of a mixed bag.

The album is a concept that seems to mix the story of The Terminator franchise and the 1999 movie, Virus, where AI and machines become sentient, start murdering their human masters, wearing their skin and parts, and using human blood for fuel. And they lean HARD into the concept with every song having a lot of samples of various robotic slaughter and vocals, screaming, sirens, buzzing whirring, goopy, gushing, sloppy sounds, and such. And to be honest it detracts a little bit from what is often and otherwise some absolutely devastating brutal slamming death metal, especially early on.

This is a shame, as at times this is arguably some of the best slam of the year, if not the last few years with some simply jaw-dropping slams and some bass drops that will literally shatter your eardrums. But it’s also littered with these samples and other noises and sounds it takes away from the music. Case and point opener “Dehumanization Protocol”, which is honestly kind of a mess, despite one of the longest and loudest bass drops I’ve heard in my life about 3 minutes in. The same happens in “Extermination Factory”, “Terror Domination” and a few other places along the way.

BUT, when these guys hone in on actual riffs and notably huge slamming riffs, they absolutely fucking kill it, and when they throw in some epic keyboards it’s truly staggering. For example, the aforementioned standout “Protonemesis” is just so goddamn good, with an epic orchestral climax, as are the brutish “Omnivore”, no frills “Agony Incarnate” (with a cool in-song prayer) and late tracks “Sentenced to Extinction” and the 8-minute “Ruins of Armageddon”, two other total head-caving standouts that use orchestration to epic effect, and seem to be a little less sample-based laden.

The album ends with “Corpsepit”, which while has a fun as-hell video and adds fun things like a techno beat, seems like a bit of an afterthought, especially as the prior track “Ruins of Armageddon” feels like an album ending, climactic track. It just adds to a bit of a ‘disjointed’ vibe I get.

Of note is the CD booklet has an ‘interesting facts’ section where you get some insight as to where some of the songs got their influence from, what samples were used, when songs were actually written (some of the material was written back in 2012 which might explain the slightly disjointed vibe) etc. Kinda cool little feature I thought.

Dehumanization Protocol was supposed to come out in 2022, but its delay to 2023 seems warranted as there is a lot going on here. But ultimately it isn’t the shoo-in for the album of the year that I had hoped for after “Protonemesis” got me all excited. But it’s arguably still going to be the year’s best (if not the most ambitious) slam death metal record and has some truly killer moments.

That’s the thing about deathcore, though. It persists. It’s been around for quite a while now, it has evolved in the direction of symphonic deathcore and kept steady at the OGs still pumping out brutal, traditional deathcore. The Last Ten Seconds of Life are kind of in the middle.

Despite the fact  I made a mistake and overrated their last self-titled full-length, they’re moving forward. A self-titled album usually means it’s a new mission statement. Well, shortly afterward, almost the entire band quit without explanation, so that was interesting timing. However, they quickly came back with a new lineup, and without much time, will be releasing a new EP to introduce the new members.

In the opening track, I can’t help but make comparisons of new vocalist Tyler Beam to Alex the Terrible from Slaughter to Prevail. He’s a powerhouse, and the first track is clearly intent on telling you who the new band is, which is basically what they were. His deeeeeep vocals juxtaposed with the choral vocals/synth work and the breakdown at the end is not something entirely unexpected but is quite well done.

It’s not as if they didn’t use synths before, but they take more of a dominating presence in “Retribution” at the beginning, the however rest of the track is savage, and includes a killer guitar solo. There’s a breakdown near the end because it’s not deathcore if there isn’t, right?

The Last Ten Seconds of Life have always also had a nu-metal side, and it shows up at the beginning of “Liberation.” Bringing the chugs and some quick, almost rapped vocals to smack you so hard you’ll be shitting Korn. Tyler’s lows are on display, here again, sounding like a Phil Bozeman/Alex the Terrible hybrid this time. The breakdown near the end is vicious, but also once again expected. I think all these bands have the same breakdown at this point.

The final track because, shit, I might as well talk about all of them, is called “Annihilation Phenomena,” and starts out sounding like the heavy doom Worm has been bringing to the table, but not for long. This is for the most part a bruiser but does hint at some lighter aspirations with the section around 2 minutes in with some slightly less cavernous vocals, but of course, a breakdown follows.

My only issue is that at this point, as mentioned above, I don’t quite understand why deathcore bands keep spawning, and this is coming from a guy who loves his deathcore but is simply bored of it. It’s not attempting to slander The Last Ten Seconds of Life because they are good at what they do, and this EP solidifies it. I am interested to see what they do with the new lineup and sort of a rebirth in the future, but despite how good the new EP is, you’ve heard deathcore before and can probably just skip it.

And for me, that “good thing” is blackened/symphonic deathcore, and I can have as much of it as I fucking want.

And Spain’s Bonecarver has delivered yet another killer addition to the genre to go with the 2022 onslaught of releases from elite acts like Lorna Shore, Worm Shepherd, Shadow of Intent, and A Wake in Providence and killer, second-tier bands like Hanging the Nihilist, Art of Attrition, Dismebodied Tyrant and Downfall of Mankind.

Bonecarver hinted at this shift on their 2021 debut, Evil, a solid brutal death metal/deathcore cross-over album. On the track “Mallevs Malificarvm” they dabbled with some epic orchestral/choral elements that were a bit out of place on the rest of the album’s more standard bludgeoning. And on Carnage Funeral, there’s is no dabbling, they have gone full-on symphonic/blackened deathcore as Mental Cruelty did on last year’s  A Hill to Die Upon. Let’s just go ahead and call it the Lorna Shore syndrome shall we?

Like Hurakan did earlier this year on Via Aeterna by bringing in a composer (Philippe Parickmiler), someone by the name of Ruben K (not drummer Ruben Contreras?) has been brought in to add to Bonecarver’s already solid backbone of brutal death metal/slam /deathcore. And he has a very Francesco Ferrini (Fleshgod Apocalypse) air about his compositions and choral/symphonic elements- very dramatic and movie score-like, and it’s really well done.

Look no further than the opening title track and first single, “Carnage Funeral” as well as the very cool orchestration that litters second track “Ancient Atrocity”, urgently epic bursts, and huge breakdown of “Pillars of Tragedy” and the absolutely rollicking, beefy bombast of personal favorites “Morgue Desecrator” and “Horror Disorder”, which comes across like Cradle of Filth meets Aborted. Closer “Bereavement” has some subtle some Middle Eastern atmospheres, but then also delivers the album’s most blistering, straight-up bruising number to end things with a solid throat punch.

On top of that, there are solid all-around performances, including a particularly feral array of shrieks and growls from Fernando Del Villar, a punishing production from guitarist Alex Tena and a strong, understated drum performance from Ruben Contreras.

The album does not outlast its stay either at a svelte, perfect 38 minutes of barbaric, orchestrated brutality that really hits the spot and puts these guys in that solid second tier of blackened/symphonic deathcore/death metal mentioned above.

In fairness, A Wake In Providence was a pretty darn good band while Ramos was still in the fray, and their 2019 album, The Blvck Sun || The Blood Moon, is pretty damn good (and as I stated in my review on the latest Lorna Shore album, Ramos was nothing special on that album). So after Ramos’ departure and that whole thing, A Wake in Providence found a  replacement in Adam Mercer from Entombed in the Abyss, buckled down, and knocked out a fucking killer album of their own that gives Pain Remains a run for its money.

Eternity is REALLY fucking good. it may not come with the hype of Pain Remains, but I tell you what, it puts A Wake In Providence in the elite echelon of blackened/symphonic deathcore with Lorna Shore, Worm Shepherd, Shadow of Intent, and Sin Deliverance ( just my humble opinion of course). It does not come with the full orchestral bombast of some of their peers, but brilliantly infuses epic, rousing choral, and orchestral arrangements into a more progressive, ambitious form of deathcore.

Mercer delivers an excellent performance with ample bellows and screams and he’s aided by guitarist and orchestral composer D’Andre Tyre who delivers an element some of their peers don’t have;  emotive clean vocals and they are well placed and well done unlike Ben Duerr’s semi sung attempts on Shadow of Intent‘s most recent effort.

Musically, while Lorna Shore, is about a continual over-the-top bludgeoning, AWIP has a little more control and variety, and the symphonic elements are more black metal, cinematic and tempered as opposed to Lorna Shore‘s pure bombast. Just listen to the opener ” An Odyssey Through The River (Overture)” and its follow up “The Horror ov The Old Gods” or the personal favorites “We Are Eternity”, and  “The Book ov The Eldritch (Second Movement)”, where the symphonic elements build and ebb with dramatic, movie score like pacing. The choirs in particular are superbly used throughout the album to build up a subtle sense of dread and a more tense theatrical atmosphere for example “Siamo Legati Dal Terrore” and the start of “The Book ov The Eldritch (Second Movement)”.

Of course, the album has plenty of genre tenets… and by that I mean there are plenty of hefty breakdowns and blast beats, with a killer production but it’s wrapped up in really well-done, varied songwriting and structures, that honestly, Lorna Shore could learn a little from at times. And not to overdo the Lorna Shore mentions and comparisons, Eternity has an epic, damn good “Pain Remains, I, II, III”- like trilogy of its own in “The Hunt ov The Wraith (First Movement)”, “The Book ov The Eldritch (Second Movement)” and “The Court ov The Trinity (Final Movement)”…. so there’s that.

A Wake in Providence and Lorna Shore are going to be inextricably tied together for a while, but I have to hand it to A Wake in Providence, Unique Leader, and Adam Mercer, as Eternity is a brilliant album that stands alone regardless of those ties and comes really close to unseating Pain Remains as the year’s top effort in the blackened/symphonic deathcore genre.

Anyway, this little teaser, presumably before their next full length, is Xenobiotic in the form of giving you a beatdown. For someone who is a fan of their more expansive tracks, I’ll admit that’s a little disappointing.

What isn’t disappointing, however, is the way this EP sounds. It’s certainly a little sterile in production, in that it lacks some dynamics, but I can still hear everything well.

With its repeated refrain of “I’m looking at a future of a world that no one loves,” track 2, “The Wretched Strive,” sounds a lot to me like Becoming the Archetype, where they use these lyrics multiple times, yet they just sound more pummeling and vicious with each repetition.

Moving a little forward, “Pathos,” which is the 4^th track, has quite a bass presence, and it’s also the longest track at 6 ½ minutes. Even though there are only 5 tracks, this one might be the best. The lead section at around 2 minutes in has that relaxed Cynic vibe going for it despite the chaos and viciousness surrounding it.

The last track, “Sever the Ties,” reminds me of “A Bid Farewell” by Killswitch Engage, but literally only because of the title. Otherwise, it has a bit of a djent groove in the verses. This song has some atmospheric touches near the end, but only briefly, which showcases of what this band is capable, even in small doses.

Honestly, I wanted more from this. I don’t mean that the songs here are lacking because that is not the case. I mean, literally, I want more. More music. In a world where labelmates Exocrine have likely released my favorite tech death album this year, I simply want MORE. In other words, I don’t know if this is going to sate me until the next full length, so I share sentiments with the last word shouted at the end of the album; “FUCK!”

Firstly, this is not tech death, and it’s not deathcore. So, what is it? It’s melodic death metal in the vein of The Black Dahlia Murder (RIP Trevor). If you’ve read this site, you know how we all feel about their discography and it’s difficult not to make some comparisons, even though there are several elements which make it stand on its own.

There are more symphonic elements in Carrion Vael’s sound. In the opener, after a long intro, including some background synths, “Wings of Deliverance” kicks in your teeth with some stellar guitar work, a little isolated bass, and those highs and lows employed by the late Mr. Strnad, performed quite admirably. This a solid, if not perhaps a tad formulaic opener, but it does set the table for what’s to come.

What’s to come, friends, is a dang old banger, I tell you what. The first standout is track 5, “Tithes of Forbearance,” with its background synths in the chorus. They’re quite subtle and far from dominant, adding to the track, not distracting. It helps that this is one of the better hooks. However, what comes with about 2 minutes left is unexpected. Although it doesn’t last long, there’s a clean vocals section after the guitar solo. It’s brief, but it does make way for a breakdown, and a repeatable chant of “kill, kill, kill!” The synths then carry the song out.

You’re probably wondering how I can call an album a “banger” when the first standout is in the second half. That’s because the first half is killer melodeath, but instead of just saying that, I decided to highlight the better second half.

The last bit I’ll mention is of course the closer, “The Paint Shop.” It’s another solid, well-performed slab of melodic death metal, but with a little less than 2 minutes left, the clean vocals that were utilized earlier come back. They stay a little longer, making more of an impact until keys finish off the album.

I’ll describe this album in a hopefully relatable way. You know the ex you have that, while you don’t want a relationship with them, they were incredible at, for lack of a better phrase, “doing the deed?” So much in fact that once in a while, you wonder what they’re doing, thinking maybe you COULD take things to the next level. Carrion Vael’s new album is like that in that it’s great in the moment, which is an incredible fuck, and sometimes that’s all you need. Maybe if things line up, you’ll go long term, but even if they don’t, it was still pretty good while it lasted, eh?