As a long time Death Metal fan I’m beginning to find all the debates in the genre at the moment very amusing. So many people lashing out against Deathcore whilst others embrace it. Innumerable people disgusted by the evolution of Tech Death, and at the same time for all this hatred a swath of barbarically true legions of OSDM. Truth be told we’ve hit a wall with this genre, or to put it better we’ve destroyed the wall and unleashed all of the horrors from beyond. It is both the most infuriating and most interesting time to be a Death Metal fan. Personally I’ve let my true side slip and as a result find myself indulging in all of the rotten fruits upon the tree of decay, lucky me!
Aiming to inject some true Slam destruction into the mix are the Canadian newcomers NecroticGoreBeast. Formed in 2017 the band then went on to release a demo in 2018 and have now landed themselves with a record deal from the mighty Comatose Music. With this new signing comes a self-titled debut full length. With ghastly track titles and subject matter can this fresh corpse prove to us that the old ways of Slam are still the best ways or will it quickly be decapitated and left for a more evolved re-animated cadaver?
Wasting no time at all the Slam heavy introduction of Prostate Deflowering Primate entrances the listeners and gets the ready for the full blown Slam assault. Thus enters Autoerotic Rectal Prolapse a hideous splaying of all out traditional Slam warfare that pays homage to the champions of the genre such as Devourment and Soils Of Fate. If you like your Slam untainted and full of gore and perversion then this is an album for you. As if the black comedy side of this release wasn’t already apparent enough we are gifted the Troma-like Flesh Eating Ejaculation which is also a Slam based affair, pure and unfaltering in delivery. Turning up the perversion comes Sterilized Infant Fleshdoll, I remember when such themes among Death Metal were commonplace but now they are almost rare enough to be sickening once again. Indeed the music lives up to its namesake a totally vile display of crushing Slam that is only amplified via thundering drums and ultra guttural old school vocals.
Entering the second half of the album we get some gut-wrenching Slams in Ripped Entrails Baptism, a hideous display of guttural and sonic defilement that leaves the listener awash with disease. Proving that no boundary is to far we are given Hacksaw Masturbation and Gagging On Feces, the later displaying some of the strongest guitar work on the album. Not only is it as packed as ever with Slams but also memorable and barbaric riffs. In fact the guitars really go up a notch in the remaining two tracks also. Coming to a climax during Half-Body Self Amputation the album as a whole leaves us stricken with the desire to hear more. At just over thirty minutes this is hopefully merely a teaser of what this band still has yet to come.
So as I’ve said I happily embrace all forms of Death Metal, after all isn’t life too short to be bothered by such trivial issues? The fact that I do encourage all forms of Death Metal (and music for that fact) however doesn’t make me any less passionate, indeed it probably makes me more so. Alas I digress, my point is that although I like a bit of all of Death Metal’s branching sub-genres I can’t deny a love for the pure. This album to me is Slam, a true definition of the term and without any silly frills or added Deathcore nonsense. This is the pinnacle of Death Metal and in fact I would struggle to even criticise such a release. My only negative would probably be that it could have been a touch longer and some of the Slams could have varied a little. Yet this is but splitting hairs and merely only a justification of my final score. If you like unparalleled Slam destruction and have been thrown off of the wagon in recent years then be sure to check out the almighty NecroticGoreBeast, they might be just what you’ve been searching for.
(8/10 George Caley)
Leave a Reply