Texas is a definite hub for some huge Brutal Death Metal talent, Devourment and Viral Load particularly spring to mind. However, we can always do with some fresh faces on the scene and this time we’re talking about Texas Murder Crew who naturally also come from Texas (unsurprisingly). I reviewed and indeed enjoyed their EP Everyone’s Last Breath, there was a little room for improvement here and there but overall I felt they captured the ethos of Slam. How does their debut full length match up though? Let’s find out with Wrapped In Their Blood put out through none other than the mighty Comatose Music.

Cue pointless ‘intro’ track, some sampling, some instrumentation, it’s not ominous or building in anticipation, just stop with this kind of thing already. Thankfully when Murderous Intent cracks in all is forgiven. Huge, and I mean huge Slam energy seeps from the guitars, the drumming is a perfect complement and the vocals are guttural, traditional and true to the lore of BDM, a brilliant and classic sound all round. Nocturne Of Evisceration keeps things fresh, expressing notions of Tech alongside the more gang$ta style Slam instrumentation, it’s a strange but very pleasing mix which suits my tastes brilliantly. The rest of the first half passes by without much incident, it’s certainly not bad though.

Pareidolia (In Splatter Patterns) is exactly what this album needs, a big wake up call, the almost Hardcore delivery of the vocals comes out of nowhere and punches hard. Still the factors which make this band so great remain, the Slams and overall instrumentation but this track certainly has a lot of fun with everything. Again Ritual Disfigurement and 3 Feet Deep both add to this, there are further waves of Tech coming through, it’s a really odd thing to note but let me explain. Basically the instrumentation and vocal patterns aren’t going full Archspire but there are just some odd flows that require extremely diligent musicianship, very admirable. Thus comes the end of the record with Wrapped In Their Blood (Part 2) and Part 3. Part 1 is the aforementioned pointless intro track and Part 2 is pretty much the same, however the final part is an actual song, it’s a strong track but not the best on the album, a good ending nonetheless.

So aside for needlessly composing the title track into three ‘parts’ this is a strong album. If they had scrapped the two pointless parts and just made another song then this would be a borderline perfect release however the structure really lets it down and leads into the realms of filler. That said when the album shines it really comes to life. I feel like the Deathcore heavy days of BDM have mostly passed (thankfully) and this record is a nice reminder that some bands can still and are beginning to Slam properly again.

(8/10 George Caley)

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