Ah, I’ve now hit that point in my life where I look upon ye band photos and despair, for I cover musicians ten years younger than me who have far better taste than I had at their age… and have been in more bands than I’ve been in now. To quote a famous extreme pop punk band – well, I guess this growing up. Enough blather. Begravement is a four-piece from Minnesota, a place so well-known for cold and ice that a bunch of Scandinavians moved there in the 1800s. This demo is their fourth release since forming in 2018, and it demonstrates one hell of an evolution. Three tracks riff between mid-90s death / thrash rippers, some terrifying spoken word (about whom I assume to be Jeffrey Dahmer), and a dual-vocal attack. The band describes the release as “represent[ing] our transition into a more intricate and technical style”, and I’m inclined to agree – a comparison to Morbid Angel would not be inappropriate, along with some punk-laden thrash on the mid-track break of the title track. There’s a slight undercurrent of melodic death metal, especially in how the vocal tactics are slightly reminiscent of an early Black Dahlia Murder (think “Funeral Thirst”). One would be tempted to say this is impressive given their age, but I find that an unnecessary (and condescending) qualifier – this is impressive, stop. While one may point to the stitched-together riffs being a little too stitched-together, it’s very exciting to hear a band so fresh with ideas that they want to include all of them in as much time as 15 minutes will allow. Suffocation, no breathing – this is my anaphylaxis demo. (go home, booo, you’re not funny sunn_bleach)

The Anaphylaxis Demo by Begravement