Rapid Fire Reviews (Corpse Worship, Monumental Discharge, Retching) (Review)

Corpse Worship Cemetery Anthems

2024 Coyote Records (CD)

These Russians are back with their third release and full length, and it's a solid effort. It's very much a European sounding record, instantly making me think of the Swedish masters of the early 1990's, but also a bit of Bolt Thrower. Some of the solos are quite musical and melodic, and that's a nice change from this style and how it's typically performed. There are some good riffs that will get your air guitar revved up. Get this if you're into this style, for sure.

Monumental Discharge Cesspit Earth

2024 Barbaric Brutality (Cassette)

This is slamming brutal death metal with a real fecal fetish, which makes me laugh, so points to them. Songs like Code Brown, Number 2 (the 2nd track no less), Fecal Apocalypse Response Team (F.A.R.T.), and Sentient Hemorrhoid tell you all you need to know about the lyrical content. The music has some seriously heavy slam riffs, with enough blasting sections to be not completely boring. These songs are short, which helps their case a lot. A handful of riffs and out. That's at least the way slam ought to be done. These songs have enough different riffs, so they hold my interest more than most slam-oriented bands. Some real death metal riffs are interspersed and make the songs different.

Retching Charming the Decomposed

2024 Independent (Digital)

This is some killer, badass death metal that blends styles into something interesting. I hear some Autopsy influence, as well as the early Swedish bands, but also the driving riffs of early Massacre, perhaps. I could be wrong, but that's what I'm hearing. This is evil-sounding, gore-fueled death metal that instantly grabs your attention and bangs your head with excellent riffs. There are quite a few sick samples relating to the songs, but they're not overly silly or off-topic, which is something that grates on me. The vocals are sick, a mix of raw-throated grunts and brutal death growls. This is really good shit, and if you're a death metal fan, you will not be disappointed. Go get this if you dig the sounds of the 1990's and even late 1980's.

Sadistic Christ "Carnal Desecration" (Review)

Sadistic Christ Carnal Desecration

2024 Independent (Digital)

sadisticchrist.bandcamp.com

BADASS TRACKS: Carnal Desecration, Mother of Demons, Evil Crucifix, Stigmatic Slave

BADASS SONG TITLES: Evil Crucifix, Sadisfaction, When Your Bowels Fall

This Spanish band often sounds to me like a blend of Deicide and Incantation, and heavy on the Deicide. I have zero problems with this! They're a young band that shows real promise and can write some excellent songs with intense, violent riffs and forceful presentation. They're clearly talented, and the clean recording on this album showcases both their ability and their craft. Every song is good, well-written, and evil as fuck. The singer increases the evil feel of the music on his own, especially with the dual-layered Glen Benton style vocals, which are perfectly executed. I definitely want to hear more from this band, so here's hoping they carry on! The cover art is also quite good, and showcases the feel of the music accurately.

Tzompantli "Beating the Drums of Ancestral Force" (Review)

Tzompantli Beating the Drums of Ancestral Force

2024 20 Buck Spin (CD / LP / Cassette)

Well, I thought I would enjoy this more, and I probably would have if it hadn't leaned so hard into the doom aspect as the album wore on. The album opens with a hell of a song, with blasts, heavy-ass riffs, and deep vocals reminiscent of Catacombs-era Nile. It's dark, heavy, and hellish. But as the album continued, I grew bored with the constant doom riffs and the sparse up-tempo sections didn't save it. If you like doom/death with a melodic flourish here and there, this is an album for you, but it's not for me. I did like the interspersed tribal music flourishes. It sets the record apart from its peers. But that's about all I can say. Just not for me. I do dig the band's image, and the fact that they lean into their heritage. I respect that immensely.

Cystic Embalmment "Bardassage Auditif" (Review)

Cystic Embalmment Bardassage Auditif

2024 CDN Records (CD)

Here we have a goregrind outfit from Canada (Quebec, specifically), and they're a formidable group. My first impression was perhaps Cock and Ball Torture mixed with Nunslaughter in some tracks, and more of a grind influence on other tracks, leaning toward the more punk side of that spectrum. The vocals are primarily the toilet-zombie vocals of most goregrind, but they mix in some grunts and growls that really set this band apart. And I cannot say enough about their ability to write a song. We all know goregrind is not known for good songs, but these guys do songwriting very well. They have hooks, catchy riffs, and extremely brutal parts that set the slower riffs up just perfectly. The drum sound is quite live-sounding, and I liked that a lot. The guitars and bass are nicely mixed with good tone, and the growling bass is especially nice. I enjoyed this release, and I definitely want to see what they're up to next. This is just the perfect mix of goregrind and primitive death metal, and I want more.

Deconsekrated "Ascension in the Altar of Condemned" (Review)

Deconsekrated Ascension in the Altar of Condemned

2024 Iron Blood and Death Corporation (CD)

ironbloodanddeath.bandcamp.com

2024 Alkolik Holocaust Records (CD, Argentina)

2024 Ancient Sounds of Madness Productions (Cassette)

ancientsoundsofmadnessproductions.bandcamp.com

2024 Futhark Records (LP)

www.futharkrecords.com

BADASS SONG TITLES: Spectral Rites, Litany of the Blasphemous

From Chile we have this excellent death metal band who plays fairly original material in the vein of some of the greats like Incantation, Morbid Angel, and Sadistic Intent! They add their own twists to the formula, with incredibly evil-sounding vocals with a Spanish accent that really sets the music apart from the clones. And I know that's just the accent the singer has when he uses English, but man, it adds something special. I always loved metal performed in Spanish or where singers have a Spanish accent - it's a tough-sounding language for a tough-sounding music. The vocalist also has a catchy, nasty growling style, and his vocals are thick with reverb, helping them sound even more evil. The songs are all good, with riffs that really caught my interest, and they're varied enough to maintain it, which seems like it's always the trouble with bands these days. This band does not have that problem. They're good songwriters. The playing is also excellent overall, and I can tell these gentlemen are accomplished musicians. The guitar sound is thick and well-recorded and fat with nastiness. The drummer stood out to me, he seems impressive. I hope to see more from these fine metalists!

Enfrenzied "Banishment of Sentient Miscreations" (Review)

Enfrenzied Banishment of Sentient Miscreations

2025 Pathologically Explicit Recordings (CD)

www.pathologicallyexplicitrecords.com

BADASS SONG TITLE: Monolithic Decay

This is well-recorded, extremely well-performed US technical death metal. Some parts are reminiscent of Malevolent Creation's more technical moments, and some of the bass playing is reminiscent of the mighty Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse. The bass is actually quite prominent in the mix, which is unusual in death metal, in the same way it's prominent on Overkill's W.F.O., meaning loud, clear, and talented. The guitar players can also write a hook in amongst all the advanced playing and technique, which is a welcome relief from most technical death metal. Other bands should take note, this is how it's done. Just because you're playing advanced material does not preclude the ability to write good, memorable songs with hooks! There are actually some surprisingly violent riffs as well. The singer has crystal clear diction and has clearly worked on his pronunciation. I recognized that a mile away since I myself did the same thing when I was singing for the most part. I always tried to remain understandable. His rhythmic delivery really helps the band stand out. The four tracks and interlude here are great, but I want to hear more and see if they can deliver this level of intensity and songwriting on a full-length. I'll be paying attention! The cover is excellent, too, with a distorted creature working its way down some nasty arcane steps, and it reminds me of the covers of the '90s.

Conjuration "Sepulchral Incantations" (Review)

Conjuration Sepulchral Incantations

2024 WolfKult Religion (Cassette)

wolfkultreligion.com

This is slower death metal with a real doom-like feel, but also primitive, but not without heavy-ass riffs! Once we get past the doom of the opening of the first track, we're greeted with a chunk-filled beating, which morphs into blasts at the right spot. These guys can clearly write a song. In fact, they have some seriously memorable riffage. The vocals shine as well, being sung from a deep, cavernous throat with reverb and puke drenched all over them. They're ugly, grand, obscure, and well-sung all at the same time. The EP continues this trajectory the entire way through, and I didn't lose interest with it like I do some modern releases in this doomed-up style. It just proves that Incantation was so far ahead of their time when they started this style of death metal, and I can hear their influence on this band as well as so many others. Make no mistake, this band isn't a copy. There's also a clear influence from the Swedish camp here, but not how you would normally think (meaning the guitar sound). The ultra-sick downtuned guitars, heavy-as-fuck guitar sound and cavern-uttered vocals help make it different and unique, as well as when they hit an up tempo and get heads banging. Conjuration is evil as fuck, and I really want to see what they do in the future.

 

Pourriture "Asap Hitam Konsorsium"

Pourriture Asap Hitam Konsorsium

2024 Brutal Mind (CD)

brutal-mind.com

Man, do I love Indonesia. The country cranks out so many good death metal bands, and this is no exception. I've never been there, but I can only imagine a country that has this many good bands also has plenty of awesome things to do otherwise. Usually bands from there are relentlessly brutal, but Pourriture brings a technical edge. It's brutal but also focused on craft. I can hear some influence from Suffocation, Dying Fetus, and Brodequin. The playing is absolutely perfect, and the riffs are immense. The production is perfect if a bit loud. It has a lot of the sonic trappings of modern brutal death metal, but that's ok. I love that the drummer is constantly doing little fills here and there, filling out the riffs and making some solid decisions with the instrument to keep things interesting. This is an album that would normally run the risk of heard-it-all-before technical death metal, but the innovation in playing from all these gentlemen keeps it out of that particular sand trap, especially the drummer. I like the decision to sing in their native language as well. I never understood why bands thought they had to use English. Most of the English world understands that they don't have the only language in the world (at least, in 2025, this is now true). Vocally we have the usual guttural vocals, but a twist gets thrown our way once or twice, like in the song "Protagon Analisis" where some shouted vocals are mixed in, I'm assuming from the guest singer on the track. Nevertheless, it adds something special.

Rotten Entrails "As the Slurry Consumes"

Rotten Entrails As the Slurry Consumes

2024 Rotten Tomb Records (CD)

www.facebook.com/rottentombrecords

2024 Iron Fortress Records (Cassette)

www.ironfortressrecords.com

BADASS SONG TITLES: Embryonic Fetish, Chronic Anemic, Spreading Evil

Here we have solid death metal with a cavernous production, with reverb dripping from the vocals and a dirty-ass guitar sound, fuzzed out bass and pounding drums. This is a great way for death metal to sound. Stylistically the band reminds me slightly of the older European bands, perhaps also some Slugathor, Incantation, or Soulless-era Grave. It's just straight ahead wimp-annihilating death metal, with an atmospheric feel. I'd have never guessed the band comes from Brazil at all. I like the looseness in the execution of the music, it gives the album a really organic feel. My only issue is that the songs don't seem to stick in my head, and I've listened to this record three times. It's not bad, in fact it's good death metal, but the riffs just don't stick with me for some reason. However, the song "Consumed" has come the closest to this, with its incredibly heavy chorus riff. I mightily enjoy that track. We also like albums with "slurry" in the title over here at OV, what a great word! Demonic-ass sewer demons on the cover. It's vomitastic.

 

Mortal "As Life Leaves the Body" (Review)

Mortal As Life Leaves the Body

2024 Independent / CD

mortaldeth.bandcamp.com

BADASS SONG TITLES: Chapel of Bones, Exposure of the Innards, Horror of Entombment

From California comes a ripping, ancient-sounding band that plays the real metal of death! The recording is just the right sort of raw, and it sounds like a death metal recording ought. It emphasizes the barbarity properly. I can even hear the guitar amp humming on "Chapel of Bones." The drums are quite live-sounding with next to no embellishment in the studio. The singer has a breathless style somewhat similar to Chris Barnes in the Eaten Back to Life era, which is awesome. He has a similar frantic delivery sometimes also. The songs are quick two to three minute affairs, reminiscent of late 1980s and early 1990s death metal. There's just a hint of looseness to the playing, giving this band a feel all their own. Some would consider it an imperfection, but I consider it personality! Not every band needs to be clean and polished. Some raw bands must exist, and the sound of this band benefits from that rawness. Mortal also gives us an unexpected twist with a guitar solo for a mid-album intro, which is very unusual, but very welcome. Influences that I hear a slight bit of are perhaps Repulsion, Abominations-era Morbid Angel, Eaten Back to Life-era Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Visions-era Sepultura, and Autopsy. At least, if I had a gun to my head and had to guess, those are my guesses. This album turned me into a fan, and I want to see what's next from these youngsters!

Orbital Gate "Astral Scavenger" (Review)

Orbital Gate Astral Scavenger

2024 Independent / Digital

orbitalgate.bandcamp.com

The world needs another slam band like I need a second asshole. Especially a one man slam band. We get the standard crystal-clear production with a super-heavy guitar tone, standard brutal vocals, Kraanium-style slam riffs, and plenty of blasts to offset the sameness of all the slams. Sounds alright so far. Well, just when you think you might have found a good B-tier band to sink your teeth into and appreciate, the dumbass samples, hardcore tough-guy shouted interludes, and FUCKING HIP HOP hit you. And that's in the first three tracks. I fucking hate this trend-hopping bullshit in the slamming brutal death metal scene. Every time I see a tracklist with "featuring John Doe Brutal from some band with -ectomy in their name" I just know I'm in for garbage like this. Now, with that said, the plus I was able to identify on this record is that the slam riffs this guitarist creates take some unexpected twists and turns, and they tend to be more creative than just the bog-standard slam band. I do enjoy that. I love slam riffs, and I always have, it's just been done to death. I hope this trend dies soon and the brutal bands can bring us real brutal death metal instead of rap with heavy guitars.