Human Barbecue - Abhorrent Atonement

Alright so today we're looking at the new EP from Human Barbecue. Formed in 2015 by Jason Lambert from Putrified J, Human Barbecue play a brand of death metal that'll probably appeal to fans of the more brutal realm and to fans of bands like Kraanium and Acranius.
 Their most recent release Abhorrent Atonement released on October 14th by Lord Of The Sick recordings features a different lineup than the Cannibalistic Flesh Harvest LP that came out earlier this year but still retains the crushing sound that they've become known for.
Opening track Babies Pancetta, starts off with some unsettling ambience before bursting into a frenzy of mosh riffs and heavy slams. On The Prowl (the albums lead single) is a pretty straight forward track opening with a slam riff then going into a groovey pinch harmonic filled riff. Up next is Disgust which might be my favorite track from the EP. The track bludgeons you for the first 50 seconds before going into a start stop type riff full of blast beats for a bit then it descends back into a brutal slam section. Finally we have the closing track Hung Then Filleted. This one is pure caveman slam style bringing about a very classic brutal death metal sound while still sounding modern without all the deathcore influences that seem to be filling the current BDM/slam scene.
Vocally Lambert is on point more than ever with his signature guttural style and the guitar tones are thick and dirty without losing any clarity. The drums (while programmed) sound top notch and cut through the mix providing the backbone to these songs.
To say this will hit my year end list would be an understatement, Human Barbecue have released two albums this year that have both ended up on heavy rotation for me so I highly recommend giving this a spin.

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Rampage Split

Yesterday a review went up for what I believe to be one of the best full length records to come out this year. Today we're taking a look at without a doubt the best split record to be released this year.

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
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Debridement - Drowning In A Cesspool Of Malform And Malady

Here's one for all the goregrind/brutal death metal sicko's out there. I absolutely love bands like this, everything from the ridiculously over the top heavy music to the gross artwork/imagery used to represent the band, I fucking love it.
I guess that brings us to today's post which is the newest release from Northern Ireland's own Debridement.
Formed in 2016 by Connor Brown, Debridement play a brand of brutal death metal all their own (all his own?). I've been following this band since Vomiting Forth From The Earth was released last February and have been waiting patiently for the first full length release pretty much since the moment Vomiting was released.

Here we have Drowning In A Cesspool of Malform And Malady (which from here on out I'll just refer to as DIACOMAM because it's too much work for a lazy prick like me to type that every time) which is 10 tracks of absolute filth. The first track Adrenochrome sets the pace for the album, opening up with a sample before bringing in one of the beefiest riffs I've heard in a long time. Adrenochrome slams hard before shifting into a groove riff then descends into absolute blastbeat chaos. Track 2 (Dank Mank Stankin Skank) carries on with the beef, opening with another sample (which are found all over the album) and then opts to switch off between dank slams and unrelenting blast beats.
The change in tempos keep the album sounding varied and fresh sounding all while maintaining the unrelenting brutality brought by the meaty riffs which are equally as spastic, but are intricate and tight enough to keep you going "holy fuck". The drums here are very heavy on the double bass and while programmed (I think? I could be wrong) they manage to tie everything together flawlessly and the bass itself is thick and cuts through the mix when needed. Vocally... well I mean, look at the cover art, you know you're getting some of the thickest gutturals in the game, the guest spots from Lukas and Pumpa (Stillbirth) on Reefer Addict and Marc (Colpoclesis) on Sputum are also well placed and add to the heaviness factor.

All in all this is easily one of my favorite death metal releases this year and without a doubt Debridements best release to date. The production is crisp without sounding overproduced, the songs are well crafted and keep you hooked and the artwork provides the perfect visual representation of the music. Sick, Heavy, and Depraved.

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Imperial Triumphant - Vile Luxury

I'm going to preface this by saying if you're looking for something uplifting and happy then you are definitely in the wrong place. What Imperial Triumphant have created here is truly a bleak and desolate piece of art. Vile Luxury came out back in July and while this blog wasn't running at that point I feel it was necessary to review one of the albums I've listened to the most this year.
Hailing from New York, Imperial Triumphant play a brand of blackened death metal unlike anything you'll ever hear but to just call this a blackened death metal album would truly not do it justice. Album opener Swarming Opulence starts off with a horn section before jumping down a well of dissonance and blastbeats creating a swelling of sounds and textures that I've only heard bands such as Gorguts and Artificial Brain successfully pull off. There's sections of this album such as on Lower World an Chernobyl Blues where you think it's going to relent (and it does briefly) but there's always an underlying sense of manic chaos in the background and when they choose to bring the heaviness and chaos down to a minimum it brings almost a film score feel to it and you can almost feel the New York art scene wrapping itself around the album.
The instrumentation on this album is top notch on this outing which is not to say that previous releases were lacking but that this one has definitely set a new bar. The guitars are heavily dissonant and create a sense of dread, the drums blast throughout while stopping just enough to create new textures in the less chaotic sections, and the bass thumps and shines all over.

Overall I'd recommend this album heavily to the bands mentioned earlier (Gorguts/Artificial Brain) but I'd also recommend this album to anyone looking to explore new sounds and territories in the metal scene. Where many bands try to experiment and it comes off as sounding derivative and like a watered down version of their influences Imperial Triumphant have created something truly unique and desolate sounding.

Buy Vile Luxury direct from the band here
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Vile Luxury VIA Gilead Media
Vile Luxury VIA Throatruiner Records (EUROPE)

Housefire - Respect

Hailing from Cambridge Ontario, Housefire play a brand of sludgey hardcore with elements of death and black metal. Their most recent release "Respect" came out July 10th and is packed full of blast beats and evil riffs.
FFO: Hexis, Armed For Apocalypse, and Black Cobra

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Hate Division - Order Of The Enslaved

Hate Division are a 4 piece technical death metal band hailing from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Order of The Enslaved conjures up 13 tracks of pure death metal that would satisfy fans of bands like Origin or Dying Fetus.

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Canadian Grand Slams

When people think of the Canadian music scene, slam death metal is probably the last thing on their minds. When it comes to hardcore or death metal the names that'll likely come to mind are more likely to be bands like Alexisonfire, Cancer Bats, or DOA, and on the metal side probably bands like Gorguts, Cryptopsy, or Kataklysm. So today I figured I would do a write up on some sweet slam/brutal death metal bands that have popped up over the years.

Alright, lets start with Intestinal Rot from Heidelberg, Ontario. Their most current EP "Re-Inventing Mankind" serves up 4 tracks of pure filth. From the opening moments of the title track to the last seconds of the album closer "Japanese Dolphin Slaughter" Intestinal Rot prove they can hang with the heavy hitters like Kraanium and Devourment.

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Up next we have Cuff from Oshawa, Ontario. This is their full length from 2014 called "Transient Suffering Through The Ergosphere". This is easily one of the heaviest slam albums I've heard over the years, and this album features guest spots from Larry Wang (Coprocephalic & Gorepot), Chris Williams (Upon Your Corpse) and Anthony Davis (Swine Overlord & Gutfucked).

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And last but certainly not least we have Gravitational Distortion from Toronto. This was my personal favorite slam album from last year. Every riff and slam on this album is perfection, they hit hard enough to drag you to a shallow grave. The vocals are also some of the dirtiest gutturals I've ever heard. Don't miss out on this one.

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