Oh my. I think I would have stumbled on this eventually due to the album cover but Left Cross is a name I have an eye on due to their addition to the Blood of the Wolf Fest in Spring of 2018. Blood of the Wolf has become a fast way of learning about new Midwest/east coast metal/punk/??? bands that drink from the same cup of slime. By the sounds of Left Cross’ debut, the covenant of grime is real.

Death metal moves slower than the other genres in terms of what excites people. Back a few years ago it was an old school revival while a little later it was a cavernous sound. With the popularity of bands like Tomb Mold and Undergang, a new sound of grimy death is being played by bands and whether or not it is the start of a new trend, it certainly is exciting. Left Cross’ hits the bulls-eye with the death aesthetic and combines it with looming riffs and a groove which could be considered catchy and entertaining as long as you spent a few years stalking around a cemetery.

Chaos Ascension goes far beyond anything expected from a death metal record with a presentation that checks all of the boxes for things you will probably enjoy. I was already looking forward to Blood of the Wolf, now this record as a strong possibility for being played live makes the Spring more exciting and terrifying.