Anyone else feel like this week dragged slower and slower by the day? Well, rest assured, the weekend is here and I have four killer albums to offer you, although yes one of them is from a more established band that you probably have already heard of.... but fuck it I wanna write about em! So kick back, grab a beer, and start blasting some death metal!
Witch Vomit - Abhorrent Rapture (2021)
Certainly Witch Vomit doesn't need an introduction nowadays, but just in case you've never heard of them until now, these death metal sickos hail from Portland, Oregon and have been releasing some crushing, apocalyptic death metal since their inception in 2012. Witch Vomit really started gaining traction upon their signing to modern day legends, 20 Buck Spin, releasing their Poisoned Blood EP in 2017 and following that up with their full length album, Buried Deep in a Bottomless Grave, in 2019. Now finally we come to their latest offering, Abhorrent Rapture, an EP that was suddenly dropped upon us in full just this past Friday (June 18th). Their last LP was one of my favorite records of the year, so I have been anticipating some new Witch Vomit material for a while now, and let me tell you, it does not disappoint in any way. Sonically, this new material picks up where the last album left off, the music is still steeped in a dark, apocalyptic atmosphere, where the music sounds like it's being played towards a lifeless void. They really find a way to utilize the cliche of that echoing death metal sound in a new, almost cinematic or theatrical quality that works so well. Don't be fooled though, this is not some Buried Deep in a Bottomless Grave part 2 type stuff, not some B-Sides/ cutting room floor style material, Witch Vomit comes back with a much more advanced, matured sound. From the production, the mix, the songwriting, the performances, every aspect has taken a step up since their last release and it is refreshing as hell. The guitar work on this EP is truly the star of the show here, the riffs build a soaring landscape that unfolds and expands larger and larger as each song progresses, occasionally broken up by some of the band's iconic discordant guitar solos. Every track carries its weight on this record, further establishing their new sound that builds upon their older releases, utilizing some slower paced moments that are contrasted by very abrupt, in-your-face passages filled with dense, adversarial instrumentation. Any time I go to pick a favorite song I truly realize that I can't, the EP is just about flawless honestly. If you have never listened to Witch Vomit before, whether it was just a band you were putting off for later or you just haven't heard of them somehow, I urge you to listen to this new EP, you won't regret it.
Artist: Witch Vomit
Album: Abhorrent Rapture
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Rating: 9.5/10
R.I.P. - R.I.P. EP (2020)
Breaching the surface from their putrid cemetery dirt naps comes R.I.P. a new death metal act hailing from Cologne, Germany with their debut self titled EP. These fiends offer up some hard hitting, mid paced death metal that has some crust punk infused attitude in the guitar tones and enough dirt in the mix to keep it old school. The vocals remind me of Matt Harvey's Gruesome style of vocals, where you'll get that mid-ranged vocal style that's got plenty of grime in them to keep them nice and interesting. Now that I mention Matt Harvey, R.I.P.'s sound feels like a mid-way point between his bands Exhumed and Gruesome. What I mean is that the songs on this EP at times have some early Death influence (Scream Bloody Gore/Leprosy) from the riffs and that early death metal drum writing that still feels very rooted in thrash metal. Then out of nowhere you get some crushing, visceral moments that remind me a lot of some of the material you'd hear off of an Exhumed record such as Horror, Slaughtercult, etc. The mix on this EP is a bit raw, but well balanced, every component is audible and present. The band starts this album off strong with "As Good As Dead" and keep that blood pumping all the way to the end. I appreciate this band's way of balancing their heavy, hard hitting moments with moments of German Thrash riffing that provides some solid headbanging moments throughout the album. This is a killer debut release coming all the way from Germany, give it a listen and support these guys!
Artist: R.I.P
Album: R.I.P. EP
Label: Independent
Rating: 6.5/10
Skullcrush - Archaic Towers of Annihilation (2019)
Skullcrush arise from the heat of Phoenix, Arizona to deliver humanity's downfall with their full length album, Archaic Towers of Annihilation. Skullcrush bring to the table their own mix of modern death metal with elements of doom metal and metallic hardcore, bringing to mind bands like Tomb Mold, Gatecreeper, and Xibalba as I listen through this record. On this album, Skullcrush is able to switch from fast, blast beat driven sections to slow melancholic passages and right back to some crunching, chug driven grooving moments flawlessly, these guys know how to pace an album very well. The heavy, fuzzy and distorted guitars and crushing drums are contrasted nicely by some gnarly mid-ranged vocals that occasionally dip down into some low growls. Like I said, these guys know how to keep a well paced record, easing us in with a mood-setting intro track, and about halfway through we get a spine-chilling, hellish interlude, and everything all leads us to the final track, "Foretoken Punishment", a perfect climactic end to the record. This track is where the band pulls out all of the stops, jamming it full of death metal shredding, speedy thrash metal-infused drumming, soaring guitar solos, and a kickass breakdown right in the middle of it all, this 7 minute track is absolutely the way to end a record like this. We may be in the middle of an Old School Death Metal craze right now, but Skullcrush really champions the modern sound and is not a band to skip out on. Go support these guys right now, jam this album, buy some merch (I know they still have some LP vinyls left on their bandcamp), and spread the word, this album kicks ass!
Artist: Skullcrush
Album: Archaic Towers of Annihilation
Label: Redefining Darkness
Rating: 7/10
Leprophiliac - Necrosis (2020)
Leprophiliac put forth an intense and adversarial record last year with the unveiling of the duo's debut LP, Necrosis, which is packaged up in what is probably the most disturbing image I've ever seen used for album art (I don't know, this one just doesn't sit right with me). Leprophiliac play some neanderthal-level death metal, steeped in the putrid stench of a thousand corpses. This is some seriously hefty death metal right here folks. The duo surrounds you with a dense wall of sound that emanates from their guitars, while they fight you at both fronts with each member's own unique vocal approach that harmonize at times like a choir from hell. These guys write some seriously catchy and heavy grooves that create memorable moments within each track and break up the monotony that can sometimes come with this more brutal style of death metal. The song "Jigoku Shoujo" is a great example of this, as the whole song is centered around one ear worm of a riff that grows and evolves as the song progresses. Leprophiliac give off some Autopsy and Incantation vibes of course, but I feel they really carved out their own unique space in the death metal realm, songs like "Monolith" and "Infesting the Intruder" really prove that this is death metal being written by some damn pros and this isn't their first rodeo. If you're looking for some hefty, hellish death metal, then look no further friend, Leprophiliac's Necrosis is exactly what you've been looking for.
Artist: Leprophiliac
Album: Necrosis
Label: Rescued From Life Records
Rating: 7/10