Rot Fester’s debut EP – 2024’s ‘Condone Or Condemn’ presented eighteen minutes’ worth of old school death metal fury. With the bulk of the material adopting a bass heavy approach coupled with a guttural roar, the Swedish duo were certainly heavy, but the sludgy tone of the recording ensured they didn’t just sound like they were casually retreading a traditonal death metal path.
Brazilian death metallers Murderess really pack a punch on their debut EP ‘Time To Kill’. In a little over thirteen minutes, the band run the full gamut of extreme metal, ranging from intensive thrash riffs crossed with a melodic death core, all the way through to a purer death sound that celebrates the genre’s less than compromising origins. The female dominated band attack from all fronts, and manage to fit a great breadth of noise into a pleasingly short assault, ensuring this release is a superb introduction to their world of brutality.
Dying Grotesque might not be the most familiar name on the death metal scene, but the young Ukrainian band deliver a huge, sometimes classic, and often interesting sound on their current single ‘Nuclear Meadows’.
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual mp3s that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. For lovers of great indie rock, there’s a real treat; for those who like the folkier end of the indie scale, there’s something almost as strong. We’ve got electronica, we’ve got something a little gothy, and even something with a death metal core. Stylistically speaking, this week, the gloves are well and truly off…
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Released five years after their well received ‘Realm I: Affection’ EP, Canadian death metallers Hatred Reigns’ ‘Awaken The Ancients’ is a full length, full throttle, intensive slab of brutality that genre fans won’t want to miss. In a little over half an hour, the band shares a speed driven approach that shares strong DNA with a few of the greats. Drawing from the pioneering works of Suffocation and Death, through to the more technical aspects of bands like Imperium, and even taking in the death/thrash crossover sound of early Sepultura in a few places, the eleven tracks convey a huge sound that reminds the listener why well played death remains so vital. However, beneath the relentless rhythmic assault and oppressive vocal stance, you’ll also experience musicianship which explores deep textures and tautly played solos that rank among some of the underground’s best.