Are you prepared for head crushing, neck snapping riffs? Do you want to start moshing as if you were at a concert and not stuck in your house because of this damned pandemic? Then may I introduce to you Unembalmed, a death metal trio from Phoenix, Arizona, with their debut album, The Stench of Suffering, released on Halloween of 2020 through Sewer Rot Records.
So what are you to expect from The Stench of Suffering? Well the album starts off with the unsettling sounds of ghoulish voices inhaling their first breaths, the dead rising as their haunted moans echo off of the walls of some underground cavern. These ghoulish moans lead straight into the opening track "Stonedead" a slow, groove-driven track that gradually picks up pace with some searing blastbeat sections that immediately swing back into some incredibly catchy riffs and grooves; a great opening track that sets the pace for the rest of the album.
Unembalmed bring you a very heavy, groove-forward form of death metal that feels reminiscent of bands from the early 90's like Benediction, Massacre, and Haunted. The guitar tone is solid and crushing, the bass is sludgy and putrid, and the drums bring such an energetic punk/hardcore attitude to the album that is so refreshing and fun as hell to listen to. The vocals feel like a blend between Dave Ingram from Benediction and Steve Heritage from Assück. The production on the album is fantastic, every instrument is there at the forefront, nobody is taking a step back in this mix and it truly reminds you of what it means for music to be "heavy." Every song on this album is packing a hell of a punch, from the machine-gun-like blastbeats on "Lost in Cremation", to the revving guitars on "Swarm of Flies", and it all comes together at the end of the final track, "Ripping Through the Dead", where we get a powerhouse of a breakdown accompanied by an ominous church bell signaling the end of the world. As someone who comes from the New Jersey scene, I know this album would make a crowd cause some mayhem.
You'll honestly be picking up parts of your skull after listening to this record, turn it up loud as hell and bang your fucking head. Unembalmed is currently working on new material, with plans to record in the summer so keep your eyes peeled!
Artist: Unembalmed
Album: The Stench of Suffering
Label: Sewer Rot Records
Rating: 7/10