Acrid Death "Abominable Presence of Blight" (Review)

Acrid Death Abominable Presence of Blight

2024 Rising Nemesis Records

This one brings the heavy. Full-on Swedish worship in the guitars and riffs, but with an edge of brutality a lot of those bands never really had outside of Grave. The chainsaw guitars are well-done and not too overbearing, and the drums are tight and easy on the ears. The bass growls along underneath it all, and the vocalist delivers highs, lows, and in-betweens. Up-tempo is the name of the game here, with double bass everywhere rumbling the songs to their completion, but not before they take your head right off with some of the most aggressive riffing in this style I've heard in a long time. Sure, the melody is there, but so is unrepentant brutality with riffs to match heaviness with any American-style band out there. Everything about this album is just big, from the production to the flawless performances. Angry riffs, angry vocals, and excellent songwriting are all delivered in a huge way. If you're a fan of chainsaw guitars, this is a can't miss record, and fuck the naysayers who always complain about this style not needing new bands. This is one nasty bastard of a record, and it's good death metal regardless of their sound. If you can't get into this you just don't like death metal as much as you say you do.

Vulvectomy "Aberrant Vaginal Gestation" (Review)

Vulvectomy Aberrant Vaginal Gestation

2025 Comatose Music (CD)

BADASS SONG TITLES: Conceived in Vaginal Sores, Choked with Menstrual Drippings, Greedy Fetal Discharge (yes, the songs are all this goddamn sick and worse - kudos to the band for managing to actually gross me out)

Vulvectomy is a band I steer people toward who ask me what an actual good slam-oriented death metal band sounds like. They're definitely part of the modern template for this style, building on the monstrous grooves of Internal Bleeding and Devourment and older bands that featured killer breakdowns like Malevolent Creation. Along with bands like Analepsy and Kraanium they have moved brutal death metal forward, kept traditional elements that need to be there, like blasts and thrash riffs, but heavied up the slam riffs to their maximum potential without the entire album becoming the same damn riff, which is always a danger with bands that like to slam. The death metal here is top notch, and every bit of it will move your body along with the infectious grooves offered. Technical death metal fans and goregrind fans will find plenty to enjoy here as well, with the top-notch playing on offer, and the sick subject matter that's almost always about something beyond nasty. It doesn't get much better than this for brutal slamming death with musical chops, so seek this out and get your head banged. This is the real brutal stuff. Ignore the trends!