BLUDGEONED BY DEFORMITY: " Epoch Of Immorality"

Helmed by the lead gurgler of Sanguissuggabogg, this is one of the most brutal death metal slabs you are going to hear in some time, well, until his day job puts something out.  Less gore, grind grooving than the Suggabogg, they do stomp down on things pretty hard. I went into this expecting to be hit by something more blasting and perhaps more technical than, well, you know who I am going to be referring to for the rest of the review, so there is no point in my trying to say their rather long name in other ways. 

The deliberate crunch of these songs is infectious. Pig Destroyer Drummer Adam Jarvis finds a more lo-fi pattern in his drum tone that reminds me of the first Lamb of God album's sound. Normally, I am just giving my first impressions when I review an album, but this time it took a couple of listens. Swank's voice is not as low and gurgling as what we have normally heard; in fact, sometimes there is more of a commanding hardcore bark to it. I like how they use samples to create some atmosphere at the end of the opening track. 

"Immorality" is more straightforward in its bludgeoning, but not devoid of headbanging groove. There is more blasting force propelling the chugs of "Intestional Suspension." This is where they show you they push the bonus to songwriting to create something brutal without just being a wall of distortion. "False Deliverance" finds the guitars grinding with a more Entombed-like density. He goes into some higher screams on this one as well. The last song has a more deliberate grind of guitar, before the flurry of double bass speeds things along. Almost makes me think of early Sepultura. I will give this album a 9, it's one of the most solid albums song wise that manages to be this heavy I 've heard since the last Nails This comes out June 6th on Iron Fortress Records. . 

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Pig Destroyer : "Head Cage"

The album starts off more grind core than not, these guys go for the throat with the anger of hard core coupled with the more metallic leanings of death metal. The vocals are more in line with hard core. Feed back squeals out from the edges of the songs. There is more groove to "Army of Cops". It proves these guys can actually write a song when they put their heads to it. There is a little more of a thrashing feel to "Circle River" . The vocals take on a more punk howling. By the time it gets to the amped up tempo of "the Torture Fields" it is clear their drummer is really talented, but everything else is descending into a mire of chugging and beginning to all sounds the same. We do have that rule, cool riffs alone do not a good song make.

Their grind core tendencies are more fully indulged on "Terminal Itch". It's a little straight forward for me. The riff to "Concrete Beast" is not wildly different from many of the other metal tinged riffs on the album. The vocals are a higher choked scream. The songs begin to sound the same on "the Adventures of Jason and JR". The verse riff is really mean. The vocals keep falling along the same lines of screams with just a few minor differences tonally. Their need for speed begins to wear thinner on songs like "Mt. Skull". Some of it comes across a little busy. The bass player they have recently added makes himself known going into "The Last Song" which hits a chug much like something Converge would have fucked with. I like the extra layers of sound they add to things .

They close the album with "House of Snakes". At seven minutes long it's the longest song on the album. From the beginning it reminds me of "Orion" before dropping down to the thump of the bass against a sample. At a minute and a half in you can't imagine anyone thinking this isn't heavy as fuck. The guitars wind around in varied levels of harmonized chugging. These guys are good at what they do. That is why I am rounding this up to a 7.5, they are not re-inventing the wheel here.  So fans is this worth a six year wait ?

Scour : "s/t"

With grind core on the rise as I have been predicting, Phil Anselmo's new super group teams pig destroyers with cattle decapitators for a decrepit birth on heaviness with a blackened streak to it. Phil goes with more of a grind core meets death metal approach to his grunts and growls , they blast ahead on the second song, and weave back and forth for varied levels of blackness. The songs are longer than what say Nails does, but there is a similar density. Nails is more grind core and truth be told has catchier riffs that what is going on here. I do like the chant that Phil converges into as " Clot" reaches it's end. Phil still retains an impressive growl and is no doubt steeped in varied genres of extreme music. This is even heavier than his Illegals album. Perhaps not as grind core as the album he did with Anal Cunt, but these are actual songs and not outbursts.

"Crooked" is under the two minute mark, so I had to listen to it a second time to really form an opinion on what is going on here. They are obviously trying to blacken things up, by the time they get to "Codes" and Phil is screaming about vampires. The wheel is not being reinvented, nor is the steel when it comes to what this album is adding to heavy music. "Tactics" is just an atmospheric interlude, so there are really five songs not six on this EP. The final song "Tear Gas" is an unrestrained blast fest. Pantera fans will be surprised by how heavy this is, but for metal heads who have adapted to the times this is just business as usual. The first solo is ripped on the last song. If those kinda things impress you then you will join the masturbatory fury, but I think the closing riff is more impressive.

I was little torn when it comes to scoring this album I could round it up to an 8, due to sheer heaviness or round it down to a 7.5, because that is all there is and these guys are pros who could have brought more to the table when it comes to the originality of the song writing. If you are a regular reader here then you would not be surprised by the direction I would go in, since at the end of the day it's all about the song. July 15th is the date Housecore Records is releasing this sonic kick in the nuts.