A Terrifying Triple Feature! (Putred, Necrectomy, Forsaken Grief)
- Matthew Rucki
- May 14, 2021
- 4 min read
This has been a busy week that nearly flew right past me, but I'm devoted to trying my best when delivering these reviews to you all every week. I decided to pull these three up from their graves to introduce you all to some incredible European death metal bands that have released some truly killer records (both past and present).
Putred - Execrat din Mormânt (2020)
Breaking through the cemetery dirt to terrorize humanity comes Putred, a three piece hailing from Romania! The vile trio have released a hell of a demo, Execrat din Mormânt, via Unholy Domain Records. This demo is comprised of four tracks of mid-to-slow paced death metal that at times starts to reach over into the realms of death/doom with their slow, drawn out instrumental moments that are overladen with soaring guitar leads and solos that remind me entirely of Hooded Menace. The demo balances heft and melody very well, the powerful yet raw and muffled hits of the double bass paired with the dramatic guitar melodies carry this album to amazing heights. Cremator's grunting vocals are blunt and direct, yet rather articulate, bringing to mind Jun Tokita of Coffins and Alexander Jones from Undeath. The band's lyrics often drive the song's title into the listener's head through a punk-like repetition. Hell I don't speak Romanian at all but know damn well I'll be screaming "Putrezire Cadaverica" and "Necroza" anytime those songs come on. Putred make the most out of a four track demo, imbuing it with some catchy riffs, groovy drums, bruiting vocals, all wrapped up in some raw, old school, chunky production, making this one of my favorite death metal demos as of now. Keep your eyes on these guys, they aren't messing around!
Artist: Putred
Album: Execrat din Mormânt
Label: Unholy Domain Records
Rating: 8.5/10
Necrectomy - Interrupted Slumber (2021)
Hailing all the way from Saint Petersburg, Russia comes the deadly Necrectomy, a four-piece that just dished out a violent debut titled Interrupted Slumber. Necrectomy delivers a foul death metal concoction that fuses together elements of Tomb Mold's sharp riffs with heavy metal and thrash melodies, and at times I even hear Darkthrone's crust punk-infused brand of black metal from their later discography coming through with the headbanging attitude that shines through the murk on this record. I really don't have any complaints about this album, yes I could comment on the raw production, but this is one of those moments where this type of production is 100% necessary, it fits the music perfectly and I wouldn't want it any other way. When Necrectomy really leans into those chugging riffs, the guitars have such amazingly satisfying texture to them and the same can be said for the drums that have their crashing presence in the mix but are balanced well overall and are never overpowering. The song "Repossess the Mindless" is absolutely the star of the show here, if you are a fan of Tomb Mold's "Planetary Clairvoyence" then you are going to love this song, it blasts out of the gate with a vile "blegh" that sends the song gunning forward at top speed, lead by a fast chugging riff that doesn't let up (this song is just so fucking badass)! All I have to say is check out this band if you want death metal that gets the blood pumping!
Artist: Necrectomy
Album: Interrupted Slumber
Label: Independent
Rating: 8/10
Forsaken Grief - Death Metal 91-92 (2019)
While perusing through Ken's Death Metal Crypt on youtube recently, I came across Forsaken Grief's 1992 Promo Demo and fell in love with it, so I went searching and found this compilation of the band's 1992 promo demo and a track off of their 1991 demo Moribund. Forsaken Grief formed in 1989 in Sweden under the name Moribund (later became forsaken Grief in 1991) and produced some incredible Swedish-style death metal for the short time they were around (1989-92). The compilation starts with the 1991 track "Crucified" which has a slower, melancholic doom metal/ heavy metal sound, being predominantly lead by some wonderful guitar melodies and has a repeating part in the song that pairs the song's iconic riff with chest thumping drums that build tension before blasting away into the next part of the song. The song is full of echoing death growls, blast beats, and those damn fine guitar leads that are all draped in an ice cold atmosphere that make for an amazing track. The next three songs, however, show how Forsaken Grief truly changed their sound for the Promo Demo later in 1992, leaning a lot more into the gruff, in-your-face style of death metal, reminding me a lot of bands like Entombed, Benediction, and Immolation. Although they sacrificed the echoing, cold atmosphere for the gritty, pungent, death metal sound, they still find moments to bring in the melody amidst the brutality. The final track on the compilation is "Pleasurable Lust" which, funny enough, is the opening track on the 1992 demo, but honestly it works very well as a powerful and memorable closer to the compilation. This track is very memorable for its wailing riffs and pummeling blast beats that bulldoze right over you. This is a very short demo that displays a very short lived band's discography, and it's a bitter-sweet listening experience, it'll make you wish this band was able to make it into the death metal limelight, because this demo material honestly contends with some of the greats from back in the day.
Artist: Forsaken Grief
Album: Death Metal 91-92
Label: Independent
Rating: 7/10
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