Dripping Decay – Watching You Rot [US, Death] (2021)

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Self Released | 12-31-21

Never discount the end of the year. It’s tempting to call it quits in mid-November, but there’s always something that could come out day-of that shakes it up. Dripping Decay is from Portland, OR – a region that’s developed one hell of a death metal pedigree these last few years. The Watching You Rot demo is seven tracks of rolling and ripping death metal with a significant grind aesthetic and intense barked growls. Torture Rack’s also from Portland, and I had to check if they had members in Dripping Decay given how both bands excel in writing short death metal songs that aren’t always entirely deathgrind. Short and sweet but oh so sweet, like putrid maggots. The half-chug breakdown midway through “Sadistic Excruciator” is the highlight.

Watching You Rot by Dripping Decay

Deliriant Nerve – Uncontrollable Ascension [US, Grind] (2021)

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Self Released | 2-1-22

In December 2021, I saw my first show since COVID-19 at Comet Ping Pong in north Washington, DC. Though I went for Caveman Cult, I left with a hell of an impression from a combative grindcore band named Deliriant Nerve. Birthed from the region’s incredibly strong extreme metal and punk scenes, Deliriant Nerve is a true fusion of both genres. Their debut Uncontrollable Ascension is an EP in the way only grindcore can do: nine tracks, 12 minutes, all fury. There’s breakdowns galore and rhythmic order in chaos with excellent drumming that weaves in and out of its own grooves. The band even finds enough energy to put in a minute-long noise outro into which the deathiest track on the album fades into feedback. Tracks get almost mathy, but that’s what happens when you’re blitzing through lightning-fast chord and tempo changes… how do these guys find time to breathe? There’s no cramming ideas into tracks, they just happen to be that multifarious – Deliriant Nerve makes all forty-eight seconds of “Vice” into erupting controlled chaos with no sloppiness whatsoever. Special shout-out to the bass guitarist, who is wonderfully unafraid to assert himself and adds a distinct sense of groove on “Shrapnel Spiral” and “Mouth Full of Eyes”.

Uncontrollable Ascension by Deliriant Nerve

Blood Upon Thorns – The Sanguinarian Oath [US, Death] (2022)

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Self Released | 1-9-22

Here’s three tracks in eight-and-a-half minutes (great Dismemberment Plan song!) from Blood Upon Thorns, a one-man death metal act based out of Tennessee. Making up superlatives would be silly: this is no-frills, straightforward death metal that hits hard. With a slightly brutal death metal aesthetic in the percussive vocal delivery, Blood Upon Thorns produces exactly what it sets out to do. The drum programming is on target, with ending track “Daemoneum” having a great echoing snare. Not much to say, but that’s not a bad thing: those looking for a crude, vicious time will be more than happy with what’s here.

The Sanguinarian Oath by Blood Upon Thorns

Blood Ouroboros – Demo MMXXII [USA, Black / Death] (2022)

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Self Released | 2-14-22

This is one of the coolest demos I’ve heard in the last few years – and that superlative isn’t for its own sake. Blood Ouroboros put out their first equally-awesome demo in 2020, which captured the attention of not a few extreme metallers who like their guitar leads at that curious superposition of melody. Two years later, and we have another – the appropriately titled Demo MMXXII. This leads from the very start with pseudo-punky black / death rhythms and chugs that show remarkable songcraft abilities within this two-piece. The production has that ever so slight guitar crunch to it, which only adds to the wrung-out growls. It’s all full and fire – and full of fire. On their Bandcamp page, the band implores “any label” who wants to release on tape to get in touch with them. I can only hope that this write-up into the aether will help them with that goal. Besides, I want one.

Demo MMXXII by Blood Ouroboros

Pungent Shroud – Demo Collection [US, Black / Death] (2022)

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Weregnome Records | 2/25/22

This is funny since it feels like both of my worlds are closing in on each other. Weregnome Records is a dungeon synth label who fervently features outsider and weirdo synth records to the delight of everyone. Over the past few months, the label has been branching out showcasing a more diverse selection of strange. Pungent Shroud is an Ohio based black / death act which spawns from the local Ohioan underground. Demo Collection is a tape compilation of all existing demo material plus three additional tracks. Demo Collection in an introduction into the haphazard and often times hazardous world of Pungent Shroud who leans on the the aesthetic of eternal rot. Whether or not its extended guttural intonations, near collapsing production, or ripped sound clips from the film Blue Velvet, the style of Pungent Shroud is one of freedom from all social contracts. This is music of the feral which will attack you in the daylight and it is everything you need at the moment.

Profane Ruination – Profane Ruination [US, Death / Doom] (2002)

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Self Released | 1-19-22

I would like my demo as raw as possible while still being safe to consume. Profane Ruination comes from a very complex tree of Tennessee based death/black/grind/void music and this venture seems to be the start of something sinister. At only three songs for its debut, Profane Ruination makes an opening statement which is full of not only spastic violence but also veneration for old masters of death metal. Wild solos, eternal riffs, and a drum sound that lives in the basement, this debut demo shows a duo that is ready for many sweat drenched nights in a places I can only assume are dim and humid with death.

Deadyellow / BOBAK – Unbound [US, Black] (2022)

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Self Released | 1-20-22

There is something rotten in the state of New Jersey. I do not know where Bobak calls home but I am going to assume it is near an overpass in the northeast section of the United States. Both bands Deadyellow and Bobak had under reviewed full length debuts in 2021 and this followup EP might be a way to call attention to both projects. Deadyellow brings accessibility to this EP in only so much as the sound inst ear shattering upon arrival. The two songs from the New Jersey project shows the remnants of a post black sound with hints of melody. this is of course dissolved in the second track “Aporia” which is more visceral and ultimately more interesting. The two tracks leads into three from raw black act Bobak. In the style of Bone Awl and other acts found on this site, Bobak screeches and claws violently through three tracks leaving nasty gashes and a lasting impression. This EP does its duty by highlighting two up and coming acts that may have been forgotten throughout the year. Unbound is a reminder that there are horrid things hiding in grisly places.

Phlegmesis – Sewer Pop [US, Death] (2022)

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Self Released | 1-10-22

Somewhere in Massachusetts is a festering wound. This wound is spreading to various projects all centered around the vague notion of death and maybe drugs. Joey Cinz participates and leads various projects such as Morgued, Inhalement, Cacophonia and Phlegmesis which all more or less strive for the same thing which is the gross unease in ones stomach after learning something awful. Sewer Pop is the debut demo from Phlegmesis which strikes a balance between gross aesthetics and irreverent tone. Billed as music one can fuck to, the two songs from Phlegmesis tiers to recreate the manic laugh one gets while watching slasher movies in the dark with just a bong as company.

Revolted Excrescence – Ritual Violence [US, Death / Black] (2021)

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Self Released | 7-29-21

Dirty, filthy, destructive death metal demo that sounds like it’s straight out of the Midwest USA in 1991. The production is grating (and took me a second to get used to), but at the end I felt like I listened a modern band that gets as close to the sound of Necrovore and Rottrevore as the best of them. It’s astoundingly captured that raw basement death metal feeling, from the gory dual-growls and caustic slow guitar leads. It never feels its 20-minute length either; the title track alone deserved immediate replays after its eight minutes are up. I love that – a death metal release that isn’t afraid to capital-D doom in context of Sempiternal Deathreign, Torture Rack, or Cianide as opposed to reliance on far-far-downtuning guitars. Each dirge on “Lord of Misery” hits like a grimy brick; the spoken word intro and mid-song skank beat of the title track inspire violent head-nodding; the deep snarl and dungeon-guitar solos on “Homocidal Erotic Torment” slay. These guys need to be watched for future execrations.

Gramarye – Spellbound in Black Majesty [US, Black] (2021)

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Signal Rex | 6-18-21

Gramarye is a new band on the scene from Minneapolis, Minnesota – a land that rivals much of North America in its cold winters. Given that Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan are pretty darn far inland, it’s no wonder they get some extreme temperatures on both sides of the equation. (See also: Fairbanks, Alaska – where 100 degree Fahrenheit days are not uncommon.) This is Gramarye’s second demo, released just several months after the first one. It’s 21 minutes of raw black metal and echoing vocals, with the guitar fuzz taking center-stage. Lord Ülzetaere (awesome name) roars on this one, throwing all kinds of manic vocal approximations of shrieking ghouls, bellowing ghosts, and associated distorted mayhem. There are some cool little bookends that make each track unique – with “Vomit from the Serpent’s Mouth” finishes in that curious noise akin to some Portal tracks in their early albums. The title track ends with swirling synths and dungeon-esque effects, recalling the creepier side of Paysage d’Hiver’s “Kerker”. Only three months til Halloween.