Atomicide--Manifest of Aversion (CD) {2024 Death Division Rituals}

deathdivisionrituals.bandcamp.com

8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

I remember when Atomicide's demos were making their rounds in the underground, back when paper 'zines were king. At the time I didn't think much of them, but as this album shows, they've grown into a real force. Musically, they're a cross between death metal, thrash metal, and war metal, and they've openly called themselves war metal in the past. They do have all the hallmarks of war metal, with long scrapes along the strings, relentless blasting, and blower guitar riffs. However, they're much more nuanced than the average war metal band, with a multitude of riffing styles and not nearly as much repetition. They're just as much Morbid Angel as they are Blasphemy. The vocals are delivered in a low growl, bordering on a bark at times, and it fits the music perfectly, making them a bit more death metal in sound. This is a fine effort with excellent songs, and every devotee of truly underground death metal should seek it out and get nuked by it.

Vile Apparition--Malignity (CD/CS/LP) {2025 Dark Descent Records/Me Saco Un Ojo}

mesacounojo.com

7/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, this is Vile Apparition's second full length. They play vicious death metal that reminds me of old Suffocation and old Cryptopsy, but with much more repetition and groove. The same level of technicality is there, but they don't lose the song in it. They do, however, throw a lot of changes into each song to keep it interesting, and they succeed there. One of the biggest differences between those aforementioned bands and Vile Apparition is that they generally have heavy grooves in their songs, as I noted, that serve to make the music even catchier, and for extended periods of time. It's not just all technical death metal. It's like a perfect mix of old-school death metal and technical death metal, and it's a beautiful balance they've struck. The musical chops on display here are impressive, with each member having total control over his instrument. One nice touch on the record is the acoustic interlude "Pulverised Dreams," which was a smart move, and it breaks up the two halves of the album perfectly. While this album didn't completely floor me, I was very impressed, and I look forward to more from this band. We'll see what else they can do.

Morbidity--Malignant Necropsy (CD) {2024 Headsplit Records}

headsplitrecords.blogspot.com

8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

Morbidity plays heavy-as-hell death metal, and is somewhat similar to Molder in their approach to the metal of death. The production is very bright, bordering on being noisy due to the distortion on the guitars and the crisp drums. Mixing straight-ahead brutality with heavy fuckin' grooves, they have riffs upon riffs of catchy material here, and the songwriting is calibrated for maximum violence. There's not a weak song on this six-song effort, and the band clearly put their best material on this EP. Morbidity is also a band that knows when to turn on the speed and when to tone it down to create hooks, and I really appreciate what they're doing. This is a very young band, so I look forward to seeing what else they can create as they move forward in their journey in this scene.

Perdition Temple--Malign Apotheosis (CD/LP/CS) (2025 Hells Headbangers Records}

www.hellsheadbangers.com

8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

This is the fifth full length for Perdition Temple since their debut in 2010, and the fourth for Hells Headbangers. Perdition Temple is the spiritual successor to Angelcorpse, carrying on that style and bringing it to ever more ears with each record. They're also one of the bands that has usurped Morbid Angel's vacant throne as kings of Satanic death metal. They've become better with each release, never losing intensity or deciding to experiment unduly with their sound. Of course, all the lyrics are still as Satanic as ever, as you'd expect them to be. One thing I love that they do once in a while is throw in a blazing fast solo where it makes sense to do so - this helps break up the songs nicely and gives us a different aspect of the band to appreciate. Malign Apotheosis is a mighty effort of true death metal, a towering paean to malevolence and heaviness, and more sinister than most black metal. It's an album you should make sure is in your collection.

Reaping Death--Maggot Infested Coffin (CD/CS) {2024 Epidemia Records}

reapingdeath.bandcamp.com

6/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

Reaping Death play ripping fast death metal that reminds me of a cross between Autopsy, Nihilist, and Repulsion. In fact, we even get a Repulsion cover version of the song "Bodily Dismemberment." They have the same ultra-fast riffing style that Repulsion had, like a sped-up version of thrash. The production is rather raw, but everything is audible. This release screams of wanting to be compared to the demos of the early 1990s, and they succeed on that front. Vocally, I'm reminded of Nihilist quite a bit, with barked growls and a fast delivery, reminiscent of those early recordings. I'll wait to declare myself a fan until I see what these guys can do with a full length, but this shows a hell of a lot of promise.

Leucotome--Lumped Cuts of Offal (CS) {2025 Gurgling Gore Records}

www.gurglinggore.com

7/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

This is Leucotome's first release, a four song demo. They play blistering old-school death metal with catchy riffs and sick blastbeats with some Necroticism-era Carcass influence. One thing that immediately sticks out is the use of slap technique on the bass guitar in the first song "Lumped Cuts of Offal." The vocals are delivered in a low growl that's disgusting and throaty, with the occasional foray into a higher register or puking noises. And here at Ominous Vomit, we love those puking noises! Overall, this is dirty, foul, decrepit death metal, and anyone searching for truly underground sounds should go find this.

Ritual Fog / Chaos Relic--Split (CS) {2025 Iron Fortress Records}

www.ironfortressrecords.com

8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

Ritual Fog delivers two more tracks of their heavy-as-fuck death metal, and as usual they destroy all in their path. I can't wait for a new full length! I could be wrong, but their vocalist sounds even more pissed off on this release than usual. This is my introduction to Chaos Relic, as I've not heard them before, and their two tracks are solid, heavy death metal with big fuckin' chunky riffs in the vein of older Cannibal Corpse, but with a bit more of a focus on groove. Their vocals are very understandable mid-range growls, and it's a refreshing change from the vocals I get to hear on a daily basis from other bands. It sort of reminds me of David Vincent on the Covenant record. This split is worth your time - it's two top-notch death metal acts united in gory glory, and their styles are distinct enough that you won't mistake one for the other. A great split overall.

Glassbone--Ruthless Savagery (CD/CS) {2026 Iron Fortress Records}

www.ironfortressrecords.com

4/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

I've seen a lot of hype online about this band's newest EP, so I went out of my way to hear it. Unfortunately, I didn't have the same reaction a lot of folks reacting to it have had. Glassbone play death metal infused with metallic hardcore (or vice versa?), and it's just got too much of a hardcore feel for me. First, it's mostly mid-paced, which is a turnoff for me most of the time with both death metal and hardcore, and they rely on slamming breakdowns for too much of their sound. Some songs almost seem to lack dynamics because of it - but I'm sure the moshers among us love that. The slightly pingy snare also grates on me a bit, and it just doesn't seem to mesh right with how heavy the toms sound. One thing I will say is that it is relentlessly heavy, and that aspect of it is very cool. I'm just not the right audience for this, I think, being as I mostly enjoy old-school sounds and I'm always looking for the most metal bands out there. But, your mileage obviously may vary, so check it out and decide for yourself. They do have one amazing logo, though.

Drift of Genes--Room (CD) {2024 Pathologically Explicit Recordings}

www.pathologicallyexplicitrecords.com

8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

This is the fourth full length from these Ukrainian deathmongers! Drift of Genes play brutal death metal that reminds me quite a lot of Dying Fetus, especially their early material, with a bit more of an underground feel to it. The songs are quite good, with blasting brutality sandwiching killer grooves all throughout the songs, and there's never too much of one thing going on. Everything is well-balanced and catchy with lots of hooks. The vocals are all in the guttural Dying Fetus style, with low grunts and growls, and all the patterns are quite nicely composed. There's no half-assing here! There's quite a bit of technicality when it comes to the music itself, and these musicians are masters of their respective instruments. My description of this does not do it justice, and do not think that since this is so close in style to Dying Fetus that it is unworthy of your attention - that would be incorrect. This is an excellent brutal death metal record, and one that deserves a place in your collection!

Rotten Soil--I Worship Death (Digital) {2026 Independent}

rottensoil.bandcamp.com

3/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS (8/10 FOR THE VOCALS)

This is the second full length from this German death metal band. They play rather simple death metal, firmly rooted in the sounds of the '90s. There are two vocal styles at work here. The first is a deep growl, a chesty, powerful roar that reeks of death. His tone here rather reminds me of Dan Swano on earlier Edge of Sanity material. The second is a high-range, raspy growl, and is used to trade off with the lower vocals, as well as layering for effect. Unfortunately, the riffs here are nowhere near as interesting as the vocals, being pretty average overall, and failing to capture my attention for the most part. There are no defects in the playing, just that the riffs aren't terribly awesome. In the end, the awesome vocals weren't quite enough to save this one for me.

Ephemerality--Obsessed with Homicide (CD) {2026 Brutal Cave Productions}

brutalcaveproductions.bandcamp.com

7/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

This is a one-man death metal project from Romania that's remarkably well-played and well-composed. It reminds me just a little of early- to mid-period Death at times, and that's not a bad thing. I think it's the vocal cadence over some of the picking and melodic passages that give me that feel. Of course, this is just an influence showing through. The guitar solos are excellent, soaring over top the death metal when they appear. They're not throwaway solos, they have musical value, and they show the skill of the guitar playing. There is a brutal side to this band as well, and blastbeats are used sparingly but effectively to increase the violence of the music at appropriate times. The songs themselves are quite varied and are dynamic, sticking with the listener sometimes immediately. The production of the album is quite nice, very natural sounding, and doesn't give me ear fatigue while I listen. That is a huge plus. One thing that stuck out to me is the quality of the vocals, most of them being mid-range growls, but there is some experimentation here and there on the album as well with different styles. I really liked the dueling vocals at the beginning of "Necrophilicon." Overall, this is fairly unique music, and was definitely a nice change of pace to review.

Nuclear Tomb--Terror Labyrinthian (CD/LP/CS) {2024 Everlasting Spew Records}

www.everlastingspew.com

8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

Nuclear Tomb play death thrash somewhat reminiscent of the great Coroner, with a similar level of technicality and musical talent. I enjoy the little sweep accents like at the beginning of "Vile Humanity," and there's a lot of little embellishments like that on this record, showing off their mastery of their instruments and craft. As technical as the band is, they're not overplaying. This is just their style, and a damn fine one. You won't get lost in the songs due to confusion over masturbatory playing, rather you'll get lost in them because they're well-written and entertaining. This is unpretentious technicality that is balanced by plenty of savagery, and it's metal as fuck, much in the same way as a band like Hellwitch. To my ears, this isn't just thrash, but first wave death metal with a dose of technical thrash. As such, it deserves inclusion in these pages. It's quite a ride from start to finish, and I listened to the album at least three times to let it sink in, because this was required of these songs. I could have written the review based on first impressions only, but I don't think I would have truly heard these songs if I had done that. 

Constant Torment--Suspended in Desolate Permanence (Digital) {2025 Independent}

constanttorment.bandcamp.com

7/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

Constant Torment play somewhat technical death metal that definitely reminds me of early Suffocation. The guitars are nice and thick and create that chunky wall of distortion this style needs, while the drums (very convincingly programmed drums) and bass do their thing behind it. I was surprised when we got a rather melodic solo in the song "From Vitality to Stillness," because that's not usually in the cards on a brutal release like this. Let's talk vocals, since that is my favorite part of this (or any) release. The vocals here are powerful, dominating growls, and all with a perfect tone. The singing remains quite understandable even without lyrics in hand. Let me stress how difficult that is to do - you often have to adjust the vocal pattern to remain understandable while growling and have excellent control of your throat and mouth, and this has clearly been planned meticulously. I'll wait for the next record to see if I declare myself a fan of this band, but I am definitely a fan of the vocals laid down here, and I'll be waiting to see what this band does next.

Vengeance Horde--Rising Vengeance (LP) {2024 Nuclear War Now! Productions}

www.nwnprod.com

8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

Here we have some truly vicious black death metal from the US, and it reminds me of Angelcorpse mixed with Bestial Warlust. One man does everything in this band and he does it all extremely well, even the drums, which notoriously suffer in a lot of one-man projects. This is about as extreme as it gets this side of grind and war metal, and I love every minute of it. I always saw this style as a natural progression from extreme thrash and early death metal, and you can draw a line directly to this from Possessed and Bathory with a stop-off at Angelcorpse and Blasphemy. The drums blast most of the time but the songwriting is dynamic enough to withstand it, and still the songs remain varied and distinct. The vocals are a harsh mid-range raspy growl like many of the bands mentioned in this review already. This is the true shit, for true metalists, and you should do the work and get a copy of this (you might have to get on Discogs to find one)! And take a look at that promo photo, the guy's a beast!

Scorching Tomb--Ossuary (CD/LP/CS) {2025 Time to Kill Records}

www.timetokill-records.com

10/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

I'll say it again - I'm a fan of the new wave of death metal bands that are taking inspiration from the masters and updating the sound in ways they see fit. Scorching Tomb fits right in with acts like Sanguisugabogg and 200 Stab Wounds with big chunky riffs and lots of groove to get your ass moving, all the while not losing their sinister edge. They temper all the groove with plenty of straight-ahead death metal that hearkens back to the masters of old like Obituary and Jungle Rot. The vocalist uses primarily a deep, powerful death growl that's quite understandable even without accompanying lyrics in front of me. His patterns are top notch, very rhythmic, and they elevate the music above the level of just ok, to must-hear. The riffs are also nonstop heavy-as-fuck, and they grind away at your ears while making you want to move. That's what good death metal should do. This is one seriously heavy bastard of a record, and I will be adding this to my collection soon. A perfect death metal album.