Organectomy – Domain of the Wretched (Brutal Death Metal)

New Zealand, a country that not only has beautiful scenery and was where my favorite movies were filmed Lord of the Rings but it’s also the home of Organectomy. The band was totally unknown to me until one day I got a single called “Beckoning the Horrors of the Depths” and since then I was hyped for their debut Domain of the Wretched. I am perfectly aware though that a good single and a good album are two completely different things so where does this leave Organectomy?

Well hell this is one sweet domain they got there. From the get-go this is kickass brutal death metal that’s everything I hoped it would be. This is the music your mother has warned you about and it reeks of filthy death metal gore. It’s heavy as hell and once the album got its claws in you it never let go. Domain of the Wretched honestly got it all going from what I want in a brutal death metal album. There are the breakdowns, got a lot of technical aspects, insane gutterals, some slam in there and heck even a couple classic filthy old school death metal riffs here and there too (like on Beckoning the Horrors of the Depths). It’s a complete package. For me this is a mix of Disentomb, Analepsy and Bloodbath getting mixed in a blender to produce this retched filth, and it’s glorious. Actually it’s not just those band getting put in a blender, so is your brain as this will leave it in a muss from all the brutality. It may not be as heavy as Pathology, it may not be as technial as Defeated Sanity or whatever but they use all the elements I enjoy and perfected the mix with just the right amount of each part.

It’s been some time now since I had so much fun with a brutal death metal album. Domain of the Wretched does just about everything right on their debut and I am glad it wasn’t just the single I heard before being good, it’s the whole album. Anything from Sanctum of Deceit, Carnal Bloodlust to the epic, closing in on eight minute long, instrumental track Cascading into Despair (how many BDM songs you heard being that long before?) with an acoustic intro are of high quality. The best brutal death metal album I’ve heard all year which uses all the tools available.

Label: Unique Leader Records
For fans of: Disentomb and Rendered Helpless
Release date: April 6th, 2018
Favorite song: Beckoning the Horrors of the Depths
Score: 4/5

Ingested – The Level Above Human (Slamming Deathcore/Death Metal)

Lets talk some about what I think of Ingested. The UK band almost single-handedly acted as a sort of gateway to slam, together with Disentomb. When The Architect of Extinction came out in 2014 it blew my mind and I was sold on the whole slam scene, even though some say *cough* the slam police *cough* it’s more deathcore than slam (or slamming deathcore) I don’t care I liked it and it opened up a new genre for me. Granted I am not a diehard fan and my knowledge of the scene bar said bands and some others like Devourment, Pathology, Abominable Putridity and Katalepsy is very limited. With that in mind I was surprised with The Level Above Human and the direction Ingested went with it.

“Sovereign” starts off hard, really hard, and I am here thinking “damn this is going to be one of my favorite albums of the year”. The album has some good highs but also lows for me though. The production quality is almost too clear and while some tracks like “Sovereign”, “Invidious”, “Better off Dead” are of top notch Ingested quality and are in some ways a development from the bands past release. Mainly since they flirt with heavy hitters from brutal death metal like Dying Fetus and others creating a, perhaps, less slam sound but more of a death metal fused together with slam. Then you have “Last Rites”, a song that switches tempo well and is by far their most technical and well written track to date. Songs like that can make me see this as an evolution of their sound and slam in general, The Level Above Human will surely bring in more fans to the fray due to this. While “the slam police” will surely say this isn’t true slam but slamming deathcore/brutal death metal or whatever I can understand why Ingested takes this road, just like Thy Art is Murder with their latest release took more inspiration from death metal to change it up some. It’s bound to happen to some of the bigger bands in such underground or even hated scenes from the general metal community.

Change or no change you have your mid-tempo slams, Jason Evans on form (as always), angry hard hitting metal with that Ingested stamp on it. It’s a rather big change from The Architect of Extinction, less deathcore, more brutal death metal added to the mix, less monotone and it’s definitely got more technical aspects to it than any of their older releases. I should be all over this because of those elements but I can’t help but to say I personally liked The Architect of Extinction a lot more than I did with The Level Above Human, maybe even because of the more straight forward and monotone approach even. I can not deny however that this is probably the right step for the band to take in order to leap forward. Ingested are not afraid to change it up and I respect them for that and while some were scared that they would lose their slam when joining Unique Leader Records this was definitely not case. They simply evolved and while I may not be completely down with this change as of yet (give me time guys) I am sure many will.

Label: Unique Leader Records
For fans of: Acrania and Cerebral Bore
Release date: April 27th, 2018
Favorite song: Sovereign
Score: 3/5

Pathology – Pathology (Brutal Death Metal)

The self-titled album from heavy hitter Pathology is upon us. This is the 9th release from a band who’ve been the gateway for many when it comes to slamming brutal death metal. Formed in 2006 by legendary drummer Dave Astor (founder of Cattle Decapitation and The Locust) Pathology have released a new album every single year, amazing work if I do say so myself. Alongside bands such as Abominable Putridity, Devourment, Visceral Disgorge and Kraanium my journey into the slam world began a few years ago. I’ll tell you right now, I am not an insanely big slam fan just as I isn’t with brutal death metal (granted I enjoy BDM more). There is simply too much shit within the genre. As I read somewhere on Reddit some time ago “for every good slam band, there’s 50 shitty ones”. I think that summarizes quite well what I think of the genre. That being said Pathology is one of the bands that do produce some wicked good slam!

Pig squeals, gutturals, chuggy groovy riffs full of breakdowns your thing? Hell Pathology got you covered once again my friend! Their 9th release is just as brutal as their old albums and when tracks like Servitors, Putrescent or Shudder comes on you just have to get fucking mental. The thing with slam is I think it has a ceiling to it that prevents it from staying in my playlist for a longer amount of time. It’s simplicity and overall trying too hard to sound brutal as fuck all the time is good for a few spins during the year but it’s generally not something I remember. It goes in one ear and out the other.

Pathology suffers from the same fate. Whereas I think this is almost as good as it gets within the genre, the genre in itself has a limitation to it. I had a good time with Pathology, just as I do with all their albums, but this isn’t something I will remember for long. For you hardcore slam fans out there though this is a must have.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PathologyMusic
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PathologyMetal
Label: Comatose Music
For fans of: Abominable Putridity and Visceral Disgorge
Favorite song: Putrescent
Score: 3/5

Katalepsy – Gravenous Hour (Brutal Death Metal)

Ah Katalepsy, one of the two Moscow giants of slam together with Abominable Putridity. Both who recently signed with Unique Leader Records, a label known for their quality brutal death metal. Saying that the stakes have been high for Katalepsy to perform after their latest brutal hit Autopsychosis.

With Gravenous Hour you can see the band move away a bit from the slam, leaning a bit more towards technical death metal. I am sure a few of the older fans will see this as a bad step and that it isn’t brutal enough anymore and I can get that. I however really like this new direction. Blindead Sultan and Critical Black Mass are freaking great and even though they are not on par with the bands monster of a song Cold Flesh Citadel (one of the best brutal songs ever made in my opinion and got me into the band) they do add something different to Katalepsy’s releases and there is no denying that it’s good brutal death metal.

So to sum it I think it’s a good album, a bit different from what I expected but still a really good listen. Katalepsy consists of some very talented musicians and I like they changed it up a bit, but didn’t do it too much. A great buy for any fan of the brutal metal school. Katalepsy – Gravenous Hour is out now by Unique Leader Records.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Katalepsymoscow
For fans of: Abominable Putridity and Pathology
Favorite song: Blindead Sultan