For those who are unfamiliar with this lot, Cancerous Womb are a four piece brutal death metal/grind band who are predominantly based up in the cold reaches of Edinburgh with one token Scouser rounding out the line-up. The fearsome act have been terrifying crowds across Europe and America in recent years, a far cry from what was initially dreamed of when the band first came into existence in 2008, three years after the notion was first conceived by guitarist and mastermind Mike. Granted it took six years for a fully-fledged line up to be solidified, since 2011 this quartet have been pushing their brutal death and grind laden sonic torment on everything they possibly can. Following up their 2014 debut, “Born Of A Cancerous Womb”, the group have toured across Europe and the USA, hitting notable gigs like Obscene Extreme Festival and plenty of slam and brutal death bills up and down the country. Anyway, enough exposition. I’m running out of things to say for background purposes, so might as well see what has made the boys in CW come to this…
“The Shrieking Of Idiots” is certainly one thing which would push me to making some intense extreme metal. And by that I mean the actual noise idiots make out in public when they force everyone within earshot and those just out of earshot to suffer their voice. Musically, this track is tight as hell. The brutal sounds of the death metal stylings sit well with the grindcore inspired sections. Carefully arranged to have maximum impact, the predominantly brutal death metal track has a steady and solid groove to it before it explodes into frantic blasts of grindcore. Piercing guitars, raw and venomous vocals, thundering bass and blast-o-riffic drums make up the foundation for this track and the way the subtle shifts from DM to grind to a hybrid of the two come off brilliantly. Intense and aggressive, this is one way to open an EP and a sure fire way to give those who will encounter these guys on their summer European Tour a taste of what awaits. Whether it is the punsihingly heavy verses or the full out blast sections with the ominous lead blazing across it or the more technical and intricate bits, there is something for everyone.
“Formless” is a total clusterfuck of a track. Think Shining (Nor) and then ask yourself if this is a cover of said acid-jazz come metal act. A total state of musical entropy it’s hard to single one part of it out, but it’s a mess for certain and rather amusing.
“Isolation Frenzy” shows a more technical side to the quartet. With slight elements of dissonance ringing out over the relentless drums and blistering riffs, it has an explosive quality to it. The pounding blast sections and intense vocals are superbly delivered and the intricate and wild complex licks which have a slight atonal quality of them are delivered precisely, allowing them to fit in perfectly despite the feel that they shouldn’t. Intense throughout, it is a huge slice of technical death metal which has it all. Going to a more traditional groove laden approach, it allows for a reprieve from the blasting but still retains that fierceness, and when it finally does explode again, the blistering pace and sheer venom in its delivery ends the track fantastically.
A cover of Napalm Death’s “When All Is Said And Done” acts as the closing track to this impressive EP and it has you by the throat from the off. The massive groove delivered at a very animated pace has a real thunder to it, especially with the way the bass rings out and really adds the heaviness to the track. Scathing vocal delivery, precise and tight as hell drums and the melodic but brutal guitars all combine wonderfully to wrap things up in a very intense way.
In all, this is a superb taste of things to come from a very promising UK death metal act. Technical, Brutal and intense, Cancerous Womb bring the grind and death metal genres together with minimal fuss, and if this EP is an indicator for future full length releases, I say ‘Mon then!
(8/10 Fraggle)
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