It’s Friday, which means two things: giving the week the finger and new music! Tune in every Friday for The Pit’s round-up of new releases, from singalong hard rock to pus-drenched underground death metal. Keep those ears bleeding!
The Ember, The Ash, Fixation (Prosthetic Records)
For fans of: Bloodbather, Slipknot, Zeal & Ardor
Standout track: “The Colossal Void”
Simply put, Fixation is going to make you stop what you’re doing and pull up Spotify to learn more about whoever made it. That’s what The Ember, The Ash are doing so well on this record: their mixture of sweeping black metal and bouncing metalcore makes them stand out amidst a sea of bands doing their damnedest to emulate other bands. Even if that combination sounds cheesy to you, it’s undeniable that this band is trying something new and interesting, and that’s fucking cool. And for those of us who are willing to toss purism to the wind, this record is nonstop rewards.
Cadaveric Incubator, Nightmare Necropolis (Hell’s Headbangers)
For fans of: General Surgery, Exhumed, Funebrarum
Standout track: “Blood Lust”
Well, FUCK, man! On their second full-length album, Finland’s Cadaveric Incubator just get gnarlier and gnarlier. Nightmare Necropolis is eight songs of fast, belly-opening death metal that’ll have fans rhythmically shoving their letter of resignation into their boss’ mouth. There’s a lot of grindcore here, and some nasty OSDM swing, but it’s all just part of the massive onslaught of total morbid rancor that is this band. Don’t forget, you left a beer in that vest pocket!
Grave Miasma, Abyss of Wrathful Deities (Dark Descent Records)
For fans of: Deicide, Witch Vomit, Profanatica
Standout track: “Erudite Decomposition”
Listening to the new Grave Miasma record makes one realize that bands have been doing the cavernous death metal thing long before the cave even existed. The tracks on Abyss of Wrathful Deities are all hanging rock spires and piles and guano and maybe some charcoal drawings of a lost civilization that died when a big worm showed up. Noisy, reverb-soaked, and frantic in its morbidity, the album will surely please those who are here for death metal that’s not just a bunch of bicep flexes. Sounds American, but nah, British!
Snet, Mokvání V Okovech (Blood Harvest)
For fans of: The Ominous Circle, Tomb Mold, Undergang
Standout track: “Zamrzly Vrch”
Gesundheit! Okay, dickhead jokes aside, Snet‘s Mokvání V Okovech (which means ‘soaked in shackles’ — hell and damn yes) is one of the radder death metal releases we’ve heard in a while. There’s a churn on these riffs that’s gripping from the get-go, a real sinewy dynamism that makes these low-end guitars and hoarse bellows feel like more than your average gore music. With a debut full-length like this, we’ll put this Prague five-piece on our radar lickety split. And good Lord, that cover…
Other crushers:
- Dodsferd, Skotos EP (Transcending Obscuirt Records)
- Caliban, Zeitgeister (Century Media)
- Charlie Benante, Silver Linings (Megaforce)
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Words by Chris Krovatin
