SEPSISM.

When I was a little shit of about 4 or 5 years old, I remember seeing an advertisement in a Thor comic book that featured a poster of a long-haired biker on a chopper wearing a denim vest with a skull and a rocker below it that said, "Pacoima".

I've never been there, but I do know that it's a tough little town on the edge of Los Angeles that claims some high poverty levels, mucho gang activity, etc. It's a very Latino community as well, claiming bad-ass actor Danny Trejo & "La Bamba" Ritchie Valens as residents.

That's your history lesson for today.

Sepsism also claim Pacoima as home, and are some bad-ass motherfuckers in their own right.
They put an unrelenting Southland twist to the vintage NY Death-Grind style; touches of Suffocation, Malevolent Creation, etc. yet they are no clone, mind you. Lots of nice chugging riffs, heavy breakdowns, hoarse gutturals, etc.
There is also plenty of blasting going back there on the drum riser, but they also have no problem slogging around in the viscera, ala' Devourment. You'll either love it or hate, you know how it goes around here…



Sepsism - To Prevail In Disgust

Link in comments.

SUFFOCATION.

I love it when I dig through my archives to see if I posted a "classic album" - only to realize that I haven't - then I end up going, "How the fuck did all this time go by & I didn't post this yet!?!"…

Dark & crushing with a grip of technicality driving the brutality, this album pretty much kicked my ass the very first time I heard it.
The riffing on this record is tasty as fuck; Hobbs takes you on an unrelenting journey, while the rhythm section gives you something to hang on to.
Everybody has a favorite album by these "Strong Island" death metal merchants, and while I dig every record they've done so far, this is the one that I always turn to when I need that extra bit of juice to get my day started, etc.



Suffocation - Pierced from Within

Link in comments.

CANNIBAL CORPSE.

So here we have the first "Corpsegrinder"-fronted C.C. album, and for me, this is always a fun listen. I'm sure there's tons of "fans" out there who dig Barnes over Fisher, but I think George stepped it right up - the dude possesses a fine-tuned serrated throat-hole, for sure.

This is a heavy album full of catchy riffs, bottom-end brutality, and overall it is in-your-face with some nice thrashy bits with creepy little lead nuances form time to time. The rhythm section? Well, what can you say? They are the mainstay of the band, and for good reason - they always come correct.

Everybody has a favorite record / era of the band, and for me - this week anyways - Vile is my favorite by these "Noo Yawk" masters of death-pummel.



Cannibal Corpse - Vile

Link in comments.


Bonus story for you...

I once witnessed George Fisher puncture the tin lid of a Skoal can w/ two fingers on the first try after a 2001 gig here in S.F.
WTF, you say? I KNOW! Rad…

GUTTURAL SECRETE.

This one goes out to all five of you who LOVED my last post!

These sick bastards from Las Vegas create a maniacal fury of blasting/grinding/intense death-grind with more than a few fucked/weird samples mixed in the fray.
The vocals are not-human-in-nature - oinky squeals all the way to deep-gut growls? You get it all.
Guitarwork? Masterful shredding indeed.
Drums? Lotsa doubled-up bass pedal action, lots of spastic blasting - so fucking tight!
Maybe the only weak spot is the bass, and there's nothing really to complain about there, just a bit more "in-the-pocket" than I'd expect for these fucked-up shit/death freaks.

This is a LOUD record that will definitely piss of everyone you know...



Guttural Secrete - Reek of Pubescent Despoilment

Link in comments.

GUTTED.

Here's some seriously under-appreciated slammin' old-school death metal done somewhat with a Swedish feel, but from the Rust Belt heavy-metal hotbed known as... Toledo, Ohio!

The three(!) Ditch brothers (Mark, Mike, & Scott) along with their shred-master pal Billy came together to form Gutted - awesome fucking name, by the way! They recorded a couple of demos & long-players, probably got out of the midwest on a few tours, and the only things left that I have to say before I let you loose on this beast is WHY THE FUCK WEREN'T THEY BIGGER BECAUSE THESE DUDES FUCKING SLAYED AND IF YOU REFER TO THIS AS "SLAM- METAL" OR "WIGGER-SLAM" I WILL PERSONALLY COME OVER TO YOUR MOM'S HOUSE AND PUSH YOUR FACE IN FOR YOU.

Sorry about that... these guys deserve respect...



Gutted - Bleed for Us to Live

Link in comments.

MALEVOLENT CREATION.

You pretty much know that you're gonna get a beating when you throw on a Malevolent Creation CD, but with Envenomed, prepare to receive the most vicious attack from their vast arsenal!

While "Retribution" may be the "classic" of their prolific output, it is THIS recording I keep going back to.
I feel that this may be their most adept lineup - their level of brutality at the time of this recording was relentless, to say the least.

Enjoy the savage violence that could only culminate from a band whose roots were sown in the NY Death scene prior to becoming kings in their own right upon migrating south to the FL Death scene...



(Link will open in new window)

Malevolent Creation - Envenomed

INCANTATION.

A classic record from one of the true elite outfits of the NY Death Metal Scene, this record never fails me - especially at 7:30am in my car on the way to work!

Incantation deliver the goods - straight from the 46th. plane of hell - on this one. Great song structure with plenty of excellent doom passages mixed in the brutality, frenzied hella-drop-tuned riffing around every corner, and one of the most masterful approaches to the guttural style of Death Metal "singing" ever.

If you've never heard Incantation, this is a good place to start.
I guarantee you'll beg for more...



(Link will open in new window)

Incantation - Mortal Throne of Nazarene

ETERNAL SUFFERING.

Loyal L-RV comrade (and recent Bay Area transplant?) Moose suggested these guys after checking out my post featuring gurgle-shredders Pyrexia. Thanks to the wonders of the webernet, I was able to this down for you all...

If you enjoy Pyrexia, vintage Suffocation and early Obituary, then you should have no problem downing this either.

A classic in it's own right, really.



(Link will open in new window)

Eternal Suffering - Drowning n Tragedy

OBITUARY.

My homie Aesop posted this on his stellar blog a while back, and I couldn't resist also posting what I feel is one of THE GREATEST death metal albums ever recorded.

This is easily the best DM record to ever come out of the FL DM scene, in my humble opinion. The vocals are fucking pure sickness, and the divebomber-leads-from-hell are second to none in the genre.

I'm gonna shut up about it now, but I will say that this has been my "go to" CD at 8am when I get to work & need to kick it in to high gear.

Never fails, bro.



(Link will open in new window)

Obituary - Slowly We Rot




Now playing: Order From Chaos - Tenebrae
via FoxyTunes

via FoxyTunes

HELLCHILD.

I think most of us agree that the Japanese create some of the best bands of the metal and hardcore genres. Well, Hellchild was one of the best at melding hardcore and brutal metal together creating something you can't label death metal or metalcore.
Masters for sure, and I miss the fuck out of this band - you do too, right?



(Link will open in new window)

Hellchild - Where the Conflict Reaches




Now playing: D.V.C. - Licentious Abandon

ULCERATE.

Seriuously precise and dynamic brutal technical death metal from New Zealand with more than it's fair share of grindcore thrown in.
This CD has been my soundtrack to my drive to work more days than not; gets the blood flowing better than coffee...

LINKS -
Official Website.
DoucheSpace.
Metal Archives.

D/L Ulcerate - Of Fracture & Failure right here.

ANIMOSITY.

I've seen these dudes a bunch of times over the last few years, and while I don't think that any one of them is 25 years of age yet, they possess the chops of seasoned vets many years their elder.

THIS RECORD IS EXTREMELY BRUTAL (as the kids like to say)...

LINKS -
Official Website.
DoucheSpace.
Metal Archives.

D/L Animosity - Animal right here.



Now playing:
Infest - Sick Of It!
via FoxyTunes

DARKEST HOUR.

Here's what I feel is this D.C. "Gothencore" bands' shining moment.
While I own all their records, I prefer the earlier material to the last two Devon Townsend-produced releases.
(Too clean and too polished with not as much "brutality" - as the kids say).
Here's a righteous slab o' pummel for ya!

LINKS -
Official Website.
DoucheSpace.
Metal Archives.

D/L Darkest Hour - Hidden Hands Of A Sadist Nation right here.