How much of a disappointment is it when you look forward so much to a new album from a favourite band and they might as well have taken a big steaming dump on your chest?
‘St. Anger’, ‘Cold Lake’, ‘Nostradamus’ etc….. all by killer bands and all shit.
Which is why it’s a total fucking joy when you wrap your ears around a new offering by a band you love and it turns out it’s the best thing they’ve done.
BTKs second full length is streets ahead of their last album (2010’s ‘The Second Cumming’) and that was a favourite that year. Put simply – any other UKDM release this year is gonna struggle to match this, both in terms of brutality and musicality.
If you’re not familiar with Basement Torture Killings where have you been? They are a constant on the underground UKDM circuit. They’ve recently shared stages with Dying Fetus, Prostitute Disfigurement, Amputated and Desecration in London and their live shows are great fun…. in a sick & twisted kinda way…. with an emphasis on theatricality & props rarely seen at a death metal gig. But back to the new record……
‘Progressive Depravity’ kicks things off with a boot in the nuts – and from this track onwards there’s no let up. Quality death/grind played with passion & precision!
If you’re familiar with the bands previous work you’ll notice the new material is much more ‘in your face’ with a vastly superior drum sound…. In fact drummer, The Fourth Killer, really shines throughout this record, blasting with inhuman intensity and throwing in some mental fills (see ‘Gorgasmic Movements In The Dark’) – I look forward to seeing that live!
Bertrand & Tarquin’s caustic dual vocals are just plain savage as is their incredibly precise and barbarous riffing – ‘Car Trunk Caroline’ and ‘Kill for Satan’ are great examples – very under rated guitarists the pair of them. The solos too sound well thought out and suit the theme of the songs as opposed to being just dumped in as a bit of technical chaff like some other bands would.
Lyrically the themes have diversified a touch taking on environmental issues, sexism & homophobia and political corruption………… is it bollocks. It’s serial killers / kidnap / torture / murder and you don’t want it any other way do you? Well what do you think ‘Minus Fingers, Teeth & Toes’ is gonna be about? Ponies & rainbows?
I’ve been playing this album constantly since before Xmas and I’m still loving it. If you’re at all into death metal these lads deliver the gory goods by the sack-load. Brutal as fuck with brilliant musicianship that doesn’t impinge on what, in my opinion, this music is all about – decent songs…… even if they’re about rape & dismemberment……after all, a man needs a hobby!
(10/10 Mark Eve)
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