Slam

Mutilatred – Determined to Rot Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on May 16, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Groove Metal, Slam, 32 comments

“In the ever-spewing world of brutal death metal, many bands push the boundaries of what low-IQ, shit-shoveling grooves can offer us—not Mutilatred though. These Toledo slam boys offer nothing more than what you would expect from the caveman school of death metal: riffs to keep the pit churning, skulls numbing, and hammers raising. When they hit the scene in 2015 with Dissecting Your Future, chug-junkies shotgunned the knuckle-dragging numbers like natty lights in the parking lot of a $5 show. In 2019, they also managed to squirt out a little EP—Ingested Filth—which helped load their tour-heavy existence with a few extra tunes. Then 2020 happened. Left to fester at home in a jar too small to contain their riffs, Determined to Rot represents the frothy, lid-bulging Mutilatred brew of a couple vile years.” Rot so fast.

Celestial Swarm – Gateways to the Necroverse [Things You Might Have Missed 2021]

By Kenstrosity on December 6, 2021 in Things You Might Have Missed 2021, Black Metal, Death Metal, Slam, 10 comments

“It seems like I routinely encounter one album within the first week of the year that sticks with me to the end. In 2021, that honor belongs to Celestial Swarm’s immense debut, Gateways to the Necroverse. The international four-piece claim to innovate a novel subset of br00tality: “slamming black metal.” Given what I’ve spent an entire year absorbing, I think a better moniker is “brutal black metal,” but I suppose that’s splitting hairs.” At the Gateways.

Waking the Cadaver – Authority Through Intimidation Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on October 28, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, Hardcore, Slam, 33 comments

“Waking the Cadaver is a few things to a lot of people. The first and most obvious one is them being the “Shredded Wheat” band from what was arguably the first popular metal meme. It was also the most memorable and probably the funniest, rivaled only by the Trivium “Boat Rudder” one and some gems from that page which dealt exclusively in Mortician memes. The second one, almost equally obvious, is that Waking the Cadaver traffic in a somewhat…controversial take on extreme metal which is often offensive to the ears of normies and metalheads alike. Third, Waking the Cadaver has some vitriolic bad reviews on Metal Archives. My favorite album of theirs, Perverse Recollections of a Necromangler, sits at a kingly 25% average – a firm 1.0/5.0 on the AMG scale.” Respect the dead’s authoritah!

NecroticGoreBeast – Human Deviance Galore Review

By Kenstrosity on October 5, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, Slam, 39 comments

“I’ve officially entered October promo world. October is also my birthday month. Therefore, for the next 31 days (starting this Friday) I am only picking up promo for my favorite genre: death metal. Thankfully, there’s a ton of promising deathly tomes stacked perilously in the bin. One such tome is Canadian brutal slam punishes NecroticGoreBeast’s sophomore album, Human Deviance Galore.” Happy Deathday!

Distant – Aeons of Oblivion Review

By Saunders on June 10, 2021 in 2021, Reviews, Death Metal, Deathcore, Slam, 16 comments

“Netherlands outfit Distant emerged on the scene with 2019’s Tyrannotophia debut, showcasing their self-proclaimed downtempo deathcore brand, with atmospheric stylings. While potential was evident, overall the album fell short of the mark, marred by monotonous writing and lack of interesting and dynamic arrangements. I missed their stopgap EP from 2020, but with two years having slipped by I plunge in with trepidation and hope to see if Distant have revamped their brand enough to sustain a deeper level of engagement.” Maintaining minimum safe distance.

Mental Cruelty – A Hill to Die Upon Review

By Kenstrosity on May 24, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, Deathcore, Melodic Black Metal, Slam, 72 comments

“Everyone loves a good comeback story. For German brutal deathcore quintet Mental Cruelty, their comeback story begins in 2018, wherein they rolled up on your beach brandishing a weapon of divine destruction named Pergatorium. Then, Inferis dropped less than a year later. To my dismay, that record abandoned much of what made Pergatorium fun and compelling, instead resorting to cheap genre tricks, lifeless breakdowns and unsatisfying symphonics. Looking back, I probably overrated Inferis by a half-point, such was my disappointment with the album after such a strong debut. Enter third installment A Hill to Die Upon.” Obsessed by (Mental) Cruelty.

Osiah – Loss Review

By Dear Hollow on May 4, 2021 in Reviews, Deathcore, Slam, Technical Death Metal, 16 comments

“Another day, another album called Loss. While some crews take up this tragic mantle with sobriety and melody, Osiah’s content pummeling you with big “djunz” time and I guess the “loss” is, like, a loss of goddamn peace and quiet. This is a band I inherited from the Spongey One who simply didn’t have the time to devote to deathcore. Shocker, I know.” Identity loss.

Korpse – Insufferable Violence Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on March 1, 2021 in Reviews, Slam, 35 comments

“For those who don’t know anything about brutal Dutch bruisers Korpse, the cover of their third full-length Insufferable Violence provides an interesting commentary. See, nobody except weirdos and fun-hating scolds take brutal death metal seriously, at least thematically. If you didn’t get into horror in high school, you probably won’t get it – and that’s fine. For those of us who did, we’ll pass by album covers with all manner of atrocity on them, thinking nothing of it. It’s not so much about being desensitized to real violence and death, but just the fake stuff.” Korpse grinding.

Colossus – Degenesis Review

By Saunders on February 8, 2021 in Reviews, Death Metal, Slam, 7 comments

“The year is in full swing and the flood of metal releases continues to overflow in the AMG promo portal. Of course there’s always an element of risk in blindly plucking albums from the portal. Unless I am feeling in a particularly risky or adventurous mood, I scout for releases that fall into my genre wheelhouse, and death metal tends to attract me like moth to flame. Especially after such a splendid year for the genre in 2020, the hope is for at least a handful of review assignments will throw up something special in 2021. The trio of musicians comprising freshly minted death metal outfit Colossus are equipped with background experience in the metal underground, via acts such as Lividity, Cryptic Fog, and Cereviscera. Despite being a new entity, basically the members are seasoned in the game, unleashing a debut album of brutal, technically proficient death.” The Colossus of Woes.

Thætas – Shrines to Absurdity [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

By Kenstrosity on December 15, 2020 in Things You Might Have Missed 2020, Slam, Technical Death Metal, 32 comments

“Like an evil twin of Afterbirth’s Four Dimensional Flesh, Thætas’ debut full-length Shrines to Absurdity feels like a different animal than the usual brand of brutal tech. Instead of Afterbirth’s counterintuitive use of airy atmospherics and deceptively uplifting songwriting, Thætas invoke crushing despair and unnerving dissonance.” Shriny, unhappy people.