Brain Stem--Nullified (CD/LP/CS) {2025 CDN Records}

www.cdnrecords.com

8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

Brain Stem play modern sounding death metal with plenty of groove and a quite percussive attack, with plenty of technicality. During their more melodic moments (which are few and far between) and during some of their groovier moments, they remind me of Kataklysm, even though they don't sound terribly like them. It's more the rhythms that make me think of them, and the songwriting. The drummer turns in a fabulous performance and I would definitely consider him one of the top drummers in the scene today. In fact, all the instrumentation is this talented. The guitars and bass are technical, and weave a tapestry for the drums to color. The vocals are the high point here. They're incredibly well-sung, using all sorts of growling techniques, sometimes in the same measure, and the vocalists delivery is rapid-fire and forceful as fuck. He elevates this from just another talented tech death offering to something I want to listen to, because of his vocals. He also knows when to use each of his different growls for maximum effect, and routinely embellishes his lines with little grunts or extraneous roars. It's quite the performance, and one I'll be listening to again soon! I hope to add this to my collection at some point.

Cemetery Rot "Euphoric Consumption of Human Flesh" (Review)

Cemetery Rot Euphoric Consumption of Human Flesh

2024 CDN Records (CD/CS)

cdnrecords.com

8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

Even though this doesn't have the buzzsaw HM-2 guitar sound, it's very much in the Scandinavian style. You can hear it in the riffs and rhythms. I also hear some influence from early Death, and that is most welcome. The vocals are huge and cavernous, echoing all over the recording, sounding like they were recorded in a cave. The riffs are simple, and the songwriting is reminiscent of the great 1990s bands, reminding me specifically of Grave. They do have a few more brutal moments more along the lines of brutal death metal, and this mixes well with the rest of their repertoire. I bought this immediately when I heard it because I liked the old-school feel and sound. There's no better recommendation than that!

Cavernum "Cannibal Feast of Gore" (Review)

Cavernum Cannibal Feast of Gore

2025 CDN Records (CD)

cdnrecords.com

6/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

BADASS SONG TITLES: Mangled in the Cavern, Carnage in the Dark

Here we have some literal caveman death metal from this Argentinian crew. Many, if not all, the tracks are about violent cannibal caveman shit in some form. The music itself is barbaric, too, simple death metal that focuses on stomping beats and pounding rhythms. The vocalist puts in a wild performance of half-growled, half-yelled vocals that really hammer home the caveman theme, and remind me a little of Unleashed. In fact, the music itself isn't unlike early Unleashed, with the same simpler riffing and focus on good songwriting. I'm sure all the cannibal movies of the 1970s had an influence on this, just due to the cover art alone, and that's awesome. I love those flicks. But this stands on its own as a good death metal record, and it's one that should definitely find an audience.

MRSA "Horrifier" (Review)

MRSA Horrifier

2025 CDN Records (CD)

cdnrecords.com

6/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

After a spate of EPs and singles dating back to 2019, we finally have a full length from Florida's MRSA. They play horror-obsessed death metal, heavy and full of hooks, with good songwriting and memorable song structures. The music is a mixture of modern brutal death metal and good old classic Floridian death. The guitars are big and chunky in the mix, led by a heavy-sounding production that favors them. The vocals are perfectly engineered and the singer has a powerful, deep growl. This band would have been right at home with the old Razorback Records lineup alongside bands like Ghoul, Frightmare, and Engorged. Lyrically, they feature material exclusively about horror movies, and focus on the classics of our time. I picked up on songs about Re-animator, Hatchet, Leprechaun, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Pumpkinhead, Child's Play and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Overall, this is competent death metal that is an enjoyable listen, and worth seeking out if you want more horror in your music.

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.

Centenary "Death... The Final Frontier" (Review)

Centenary "Death... The Final Frontier"

2021 CDN Records (CD / Cassette)

BADASS SONG TITLES: Entangled in Entrails, Liquified Rot, Slaves from the Grave

BADASS SHORT DESCRIPTION: Slaves of the chainsaw gods

I've been acquainted with guitarist Mike Bradley for a while, from meeting him at the occasional show when I was in Riphead, and the time we went to see Master and Solstice in 2014 (was it 2014? Wow, time flies.). I never did review anything past the demo material, so I definitely owe him this one! It's a bit of an older album by this point, but it's their newest effort, and still available, so I figured why the fuck not? And now I live in the area, so I figured let's get some hometown boys on this review site!

It's clear from the start that we're getting chainsaw-guitar-sound worship here, and that ain't a bad thing. The HM-2 pedal is to the fuckin' metal, and it makes the guitars heavy as fuck on this album, especially with the simpler riffing style present here, which adds to the guitar sound's effectiveness. This is all in the vein of older Swedish death metal like Entombed, Dismember, Grave, etc. However, this isn't a toss-it-because-I-heard-it-all-before release. No, quite the contrary. They mix in some fierce punk beats and crusty riffs, and combine that with high- and mid-ranged vocals. It's a nice change to hear a band that isn't trying to exactly copy the formula in this style.

Many songs on the record have samples, especially on the first half of the album, and it reminds me slightly of Impetigo or Mortician in this respect, but with shorter sample duration. Only a few bands can get away with three-minute movie samples. I respect that they kept them shorter. Another notable thing is the amount of actual blastbeats on the record, which isn't a usual tactic for worshippers at the Swedish altar. This is likely due to Repulsion being an influence on the band (I feel safe saying that, due to Repulsion once making their home here in/near Detroit). When the blasts hit they're fierce, quick, and punchy, and the crisp snare sound helps that along. There are also solos sprinkled into many of the tracks, always at the right times and the right lengths. The intensity turns up every time one drops its hammer on the listener. 

They also saved the absolute best song for last, at least in this reviewer's opinion, in "Slaves from the Grave," which has a badass chunky verse riff, punctuated by a punked up riff that has solos flying over top of it, into a mean-ass black metal-style blast riff. This song has it all, and it's all stuff Centenary is good at doing. It's probably the song I would tell people to listen to if they wanted to know what Centenary is all about.

Get over to CDN Records, you fucks, and buy this goddamn tape, it sounds best in analog! I was a fan of this band before, since I kept track of what they were doing after I lost contact with Mike (I'm still alive, man!), and I'm still a fan now, since they have just become better at what they were doing, release after release. I'll be looking forward to what comes next since it's been almost 4 years since this arrived on the scene!

Bonus points for the Kolchak sample. That's a killer show.

Blastomycosis "A Feast for the Tasteless" (Review)

Blastomycosis “A Feast for the Tasteless”

2024 CDN  Records / CD

cdnrecords.com

BADASS SONG TITLES: Magmatic Muff, Testicular Bludgeoning, The Good Ole Choke and Poke, Brute Force Intercourse

BADASS SHORT DESCRIPTION: Tastefully technical

Blastomycosis is a band that leans in firmly to the cartoonishly violent brutal death metal subgenre, and then takes it to the next level with obvious humor in their song titles, and, I would assume, lyrics. While I’m not the biggest fan of that approach, for certain bands it works, and this is one of them. Titles like “Testicular Bludgeoning,” “The Good Ole Choke and Poke,” and “Something Something Ruptured Anus” definitely made me laugh. They missed an opportunity on “Let Us Eat a Fetus,” though, which should have been titled “Feed Us a Fetus.” See what I did there?

Stylistically, they’re firmly in the brutal death metal camp, and surprisingly more on the technical side, with some incredible musicianship, especially in the rhythm section. The bass player is a monster. All the cymbal work really shines through and adds things as well, especially during the otherwise straight-ahead moments. A fine bunch of players here. Likewise, the vocals and guitars are strong. There are loads of excellent riffs here that’ll have you wrecking vertebrae as soon as you hear them. And it’s not so technical as to turn me off, either. Some bands I think just say “look what I can do,” and that’s fine, but can you write a fucking song? No, they can’t. These guys can, and they’re really good at it. The vocalist adds to this horrid mélange, with varied patterns and varied tones, and he doesn’t get stuck in toad- or pig-vocals too often, and if he does use them, it’s an accent that shows his range. It’s a diverse, strong, sometimes downright evil fuckin’ performance in the vocal department.

As a for-instance, on “Brute Force Intercourse,” there are a ton of different riffs, wild bass work, non-stop technical drum playing, and all sorts of vocals, but it’s still a cohesive, recognizable, interesting song. They know when to chill the fuck out and change it up, but tie it all together with good songwriting, and even – gasp – a melody or two. They keep the guitars producing memorable riffs and let the wild shit happen underneath that while still showing off their prowess as well. I know, crazy. I wish more brutal death metal bands did this sort of thing. Like, if a simple riff fits and makes the song better, USE THE MOTHERFUCKER. Too often it’s all tech, all slam, or all grind. This band does a bit of everything, but manages to sound like Blastomycosis and not five million other bands playing a style like this. The talent shines and so does their craft. I’m now a fan. I hadn’t heard any of their previous material, oddly, but I’m probably going to go find it now to see how it measures up. This one’s a monster, dear vomitees (I being the writer am the vomitor, so that makes you readers the vomitees, of course), and worthy of your hard-earned or at least craftily-stolen death metal dollars.