Released on August 31st via Putrid Coffin Records, we have the Rampage split featuring Agonal Breathing, Gangrenectomy, Pit Of Toxic Slime, and Traumatomy.
Up first we have Agonal Breathing's portion. These guys are hands down my current favorite brutal death metal band in the scene right now. The Snare is pingy as fuck, the riffs slam and trudge along like a caveman and the vocals are some of the dirtiest gutturals I've heard in a long time. Opening the split we have the aptly titled Victims of The Rampage, first we get a sound clip of an air raid siren and whats probably the creature on the front of the cover gorging itself in gore. The drums are heavy on the double bass for most of this song before slowing right the fuck down to an immovable pace where they just bludgeon you alongside the riffs. After that we get a cover of a Carnifex classic, Slit Wrist Savior. This is probably my favorite track here, not just because it's a killer rendition of the song but partly for the nostalgia factor that comes with it for me. After this we get two more slabs of undeniably heavy slam, "Through Rotted Human Debris" and "Partial Detruncation". These tracks show that Agonal Breathing have much more to offer than what was first shown on last years full length Pure Agony and that their here to stay.
Up next we have Gangrenectomy. Honestly I've seen the name pop up so many times but haven't really given them enough attention prior to this release, I mean, I've given their 2015 full length a few playthroughs but never gave them much thought until their promo track from this came out on Slam Worldwide. For their portion of the split they provide a healthy slab of slam. the production on these tracks are absolutely sick. The guitar tone is nasty, the bass is clanky and audible, the drums are powerful, and the vocals are thick a fuck. When you first hear Bonebreaking Torture Hammerage, you get a taste of that guitar and bass tone and pretty much know what you're getting yourself into. Raped and Dismembered By A Wookie is definatly the standout track from these guys for me though. It opens with some filthy blasts that lead into a ridiculous slam that just builds and builds and builds until it drops briefly only to descend back into blast beat madness.
I'm familiar with Pit of Toxic Slime from their split with Fermented Masturbation and their 2017 full length and can without a doubt say I'm a fan. Hailing from Italy, Pix Of Toxic Slime play a brand of brutal death metal all their own. I'm sure some dickhead will chime in and say "all these bands sound the same" but Pit of Toxic Slime have a riffing style that reminds me of OG death metal bands and a bit of New York hardcore bands. Liar has some riffs that remind me of old school Obituary and Suffocation but still with the modern brutal death sound and Hate For The Masses has some sections that bring to mind the spastic sounds of early Cannibal Corpse. Infamous Pt. 2 has to be my favorite track here from them though, just based on the riff that comes in at 1:34, fucking unreal.
Finally we have the legendary Traumatomy who you are probably familiar with if you're a fan of the brutal death scene. This is the second release from them since the lineup change and the first with current drummer Alexey Belov and is a great addition to their discography. For me I'd say these could very well be my favorite Traumatomy tracks produced yet. Hysteric Decapitation is frantic and all over the place switching between dank slams and relentless blasts building up into one of the meatiest riffs at the very end of the song. My favorite part though is in Realms of Inhumanity at 2:37 where the guitars break away and speed up albeit briefly
Overall you'd be hard pressed to find a split as heavy as this one, and for me this has been my favorite split all year outside of the Full of Hell/Intensive Care split that came out earlier this year. Each band hits hard on the four tracks each of them serve up, the production is crisp and tight without sounding over produced much like most of today's death metal scene.
A huge shoutout goes to Putrid Coffin Records for releasing this aswell. For a relatively new, independent label to release something thats been as highly anticipated and well received as this split is a huge achievement for small labels, make sure you keep an eye on them aswell because they've talked about releases from Scourgery and Defleshed and Gutted coming out later this year aswell.
Physical & Digital Copies of The Rampage Split Available Here
Putrid Coffin Records Website
Putrid Coffin Records on Facebook
Agonal Breathing on Facebook
Gangrenectomy on Facebook
Traumatomy on Facebook
Pit Of Toxic Slime on Facebook
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