How much more can I rant on about Brutal Death Metal? Probably a whole lot more, and I won’t stop until all reading this are polishing their Slam hammers and awaiting their first Waking The Cadaver gig. Any how as I have mentioned many a time Brutal Death Metal is the greatest, Kreator, Slayer and Venom may well be responsible for harnessing the extreme but this is the result. To some this may be too much, too over the top and too ludicrous. Yet for me it is the height of musical achievement, destructive without become Noise (not that there is anything wrong with Noise).
Today we speak of Brutal Death newbies Wurm Flesh from Sacramento California. These up and coming bruisers have cobbled together as a quartet and been pushed out into the world by Comatose Music. Comatose to me always represents the cream of the crop, I can normally rest assured that anything from this marvellous label will be to my tastes. Therefore when the opportunity arose to review the debut from Wurm Flesh, Excoriation Evisceration I jumped at the chance. But is this a new masterpiece or just another limb upon the table of dismemberment?
From the get go there is some serious savagery that arises. Waltz Of The Wurms is every bit as perfect as an introduction should be, a nice steady build up of haunting proportions that leads seamlessly in the oncoming barbarity of the full release. From then on it is riff after riff, huge traditional Brutal Death Metal guitars lay atop some equally masterful drumming which exude the nasty snare sounds of old. Bass is equally dirt ridden and Slam laden, perhaps even akin to the wonderment that is Captain Piss of Devourment fame.
Vocally there are no faults either, guttural, hideous and every bit classic in tone. However does this make Excoriation Evisceration just another run of the mill, generic festering corpse? I would argue no. Since the rise and subsequent blending that has occurred between Brutal Death Metal and Deathcore in recent years there has been a lack on new bands harnessing the dare I say old school ways. This album throws me straight back to 2009, nostalgic and at the same time refreshing Wurm Flesh have crafted a sincere snapshot of the meaning of Brutal Death Metal. Just look at tracks such as Deceased And Festering, House Of Flesh and Propagated Self Hatred Through Viral Media each one a rotting monument of musical triumph.
In conclusion I would very much like to knight Wurm Flesh as the saviours of modern Brutal Death Metal. Whilst I have grown to accept and even enjoy the tainting in which Deathcore has had upon the scene It is still refreshing to see that the sound I fell in love with is far from dying. Wurm Flesh are keeping the spirit alive with old themes that are now so few and far between that they appear forward thinking and modern. The actual case being that Wurm Flesh have stormed forth with the rusted hammers of old and fought back as a resistance to the often corrupted scene, perfection.
(9/10 George Caley)
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