Welcome, metal afficionados, inquisitive readers and everyone in between, to the premiere of Extreme Measures, a new monthly format where Sputnik users and artists come together to take a long, hard lo-, ahem, briefly check overlooked (and some overly looked at) extreme metal and adjacent releases that came out in the previous month and offer their thoughts on select songs. This has been a long time in the making, and we’re excited to finally share our findings with you. For this first edition, some very, very special guests did themselves the honor of joining in. We hope you’ll have as much fun jamming and reading as we did crafting this. Let’s dive in.

Sput jammers (spammers?) this month:

evilford, DM hypeman extraordinaire

Yours truly, humble host

And our surprise guests for this episode are:

Vaughn, Jacob, Josh and Lille (Defeated Sanity, left to right)

– Calendar week 10 –

Innermost Intestinal Exposure by Chordoma — Josh’s pick

Chordoma — 03.07.2025 — Comatose — Spotify

I hadn’t heard of this band until now, but definitely a strong relative new-comer to the brutal death metal fold! I especially like the play in contrast between ultra fast blast sections and then immediate drops into slow little teaser slams. I’m reminded a lot of Putridity in this regard. Well executed! Really nice delivery on this EP from everyone involved. Speaking of which, we have some well-experienced dudes in this lineup, covering bands from Inherit Disease, Amputated Genitals, Pyrexia, etc. In a genre that’s tough to sound fresh in nowadays, this one scratches an itch nicely!

Right off the bat, I am hearing very good drumming, putrid vocals and good riffs. The drumming on this song is more than competent, and I would say it is excellent. Lots of fast double-bass and snare interplay, and multiple pace changes happen and the drumming never stops being in command. The vocals are gurgly, but not to a repulsive extent; they’re quite effective for the type of metal we’re listening to. There are a healthy amount of chugs featured here, but there is also a good amount of progressing chords and shredding, so no one style of riffing dominates over the other, and that keeps “Innermost Intestinal Exposure” pretty fresh throughout. Great, fast-paced brutal death metal song. The instrumentation is very, very good and I will most likely want to check the rest of this release.

When I caught wind of Nikhil Talwalkar’s involvement, this EP instantly shot up my list of anticipated releases. While Chordoma didn’t live up to my perhaps unrealistically high expectations, what with the insane potential implied by the members’ pedigree rarely being tapped, the drumming is indeed fantastic. Not only are there lots and lots of detail-oriented, well-nigh impish little moments interspersed with all the songs, but the kick and snare tones for themselves are as tasteful as can be expected in this day and age. Unfortunately, this high standard doesn’t apply to the guitars, their scratchy yet suboptimally staged overall production tending to make them get drowned out underneath the near-constant blasting, which slightly mars my listening pleasure. “Innermost Intestinal Exposure” is as good a pick as any of the other tracks would have been, because what the band’s debut lacks most is variety. For example, the opposite polarity of the guitars going into slam mode while the drums keep triplet-blasting away (cf. 1:26) is neat and made me prick up my ears the first time around, but should have been implemented more sparsely, i.e. maybe once or twice throughout the release’s entire runtime. All that is not to say I wasn’t enjoying myself while listening to Chordoma, though. It’s a fun jam if you want to sandblast some wax off ye olde sound funnels. It’s just that it could have been so much more.

False Prophet Genuflect by Terror Corpse — Ford’s pick

Systems of Apocalypse — 03.07.2025 — Self-released — Bandcamp

Terror Corpse should instantly interest many metal fans, featuring members of Malignant Altar, Insect Warfare, Church of Disgust, and Necrofier. Those four (fairly) different bands employ a myriad of metal styles, and they are all on display in “False Prophet Genuflect”. A little above-average for a deathgrind song runtime at 2:12, the song leaves little to the aural imagination and pummels the listener to the ground handily within its 132 seconds. Heavy, chunky riffs and death growls start the song at a mid pace, but it doesn’t take long for Terror Corpse to turn the tempo and energy all the way up to deathgrind standards. The song showcases multiple tempo and vocal style changes, but the constant is heavy-ass riffs. Terror Corpse run the gamut of their members’ collective styles in this song, and it should leave most, if not all, fans of extreme, heavy music fully satiated.

Many deathgrind bands have the grindy aspect of their music take center stage, the death metal side often serving as an excuse to throttle back the tempo and introduce some groove. Not so with Terror Corpse, who seamlessly switch between the two styles without neglecting either. This song is a perfect example of that constant juxtaposition, transitioning from heavy-af death metal to pure, fast-paced grind before culminating in a filthy, almost death-doom-y passage and an accompanying chug stomp. This is topped off by the track’s last quarter, where both genres are fused into an ingeniously ambivalent riff. All that crammed into a measly two minutes. Impressive!

I’m not usually into this kinda grind stuff at all. These guys are very solid. The aggressive screams are very well done and the gutturals show some brutal death expertise as well. Drums are very aggressive and competent. Sound is great! Riffs are not so much a standout to me. As I said, I’m not too much into the grind thing. I’m sure lovers of the style like Insect Warfare and stuff will love this, so I must highly recommend it to those types!

Eater of Stars by Death Pulsation — Nex’s pick

Demo — 03.07.2025 — Caligari — Bandcamp

I’ve listened to this so often I’ve lost count. The first thing that immediately grabbed my attention, apart from the pleasantly old-school production with its muffled, rumbling low end and reverb-laden vocals, was the punkish attitude on display. This is raw, rolling, zero-fucks-given DM with a tasty side of BM. “Eater of Stars” features chorus-quality lead work that lends the song an anthemic aesthetic and makes it the clear standout on this demo. The whole release is a callback to the genre’s primitive roots and achieves the marvelous feat of sounding time-honored and, at the same time, fresh.

Raw as fuck! I love the intensity; being a big fan of bands like Insect Warfare and Wormrot myself, this scratches an itch. A lot of grind can be devoid of any audible melodies, so it’s refreshing to hear some riffage here. Interesting approach with the vocals here, too, which I like; having almost black metal-esque vocals over a grind track is interesting to hear, blending with moments of more punky-style shouts. Definitely going against the grain a bit with their sound here. Much approved!

One thing I (and many fans) love about death metal demos is that they are almost always a completely incorruptible medium; no label meddling, no over-polished production, just pure performance and vision. I can’t help but believe that this is the case with Death Pulsation’s demo. The mystique of the music on it, its overall sound, and by extension the sound and very aura of “Eater of Stars” checks nearly countless desirable boxes for a death metal demo: the characteristically muddy production, incredibly catchy leads, a quick and concise runtime, a musical and conceptual vision that encourages repeated attentive listens, et cetera. In this less-than-four minute song, we hear many elements of influence, ranging from death metal, black metal, heavy metal, death ‘n’ roll, and more. This short track is a wild (mainly) death metal ride that takes the listener through peaks, valleys, all of the band’s sounds, and everything in between. This surely is a release that I will return to in the future, and there should be much anticipation for whatever they may decide to do in the future.

Other noteworthy releases from week 10:

Shrine of Denial – I, Moloch (S)

Scalpture – Landkrieg (S)

Smiqra – Rɡyaɡ̇dźé! (S)

Impurity – The Eternal Sleep (S)

– Calendar week 11 –

Through a Glass, Darkly by Warbringer — Vaughn’s pick

Wrath and Ruin — 03.14.2025 — Napalm — Spotify

So I don’t think I’ll truly ever understand the concept of “melodic death metal” in a commercial sense, especially in regards to the Gothenburg/Swedish thing. That being said, it’s had a huge resurgence sonically in what’s in vogue today seemingly and is finding its way into a lot of contemporary bands, especially in the US. Warbringer seems to be a very popular modern “death metal” band, but for me, it doesn’t really exhibit any of what I am looking for in my understanding of what death metal is all about. The writing feels generic and lackluster, and the production doesn’t really speak to what I look for in death metal production, which is depth and girth. That being said, I think given the target market for this kind of metal, it serves its purpose, and who knows, maybe someone will hear this and eventually find their way to the death metal that matters.

Leave it to the guitarist of arguably (or is it?) the greatest brutal death metal band there ever was, of all people, to subject me to some melodeath, a genre which, except for a handful of outliers like later Carcass or Intestine Baalism, I haven’t been able to gel with no matter how hard I’ve tried and therefore have no intention to ever explore thoroughly. The whole idea behind it, its DNA if you will, is simply too antithetic to what I enjoy about death metal, maybe even metal in its totality. So thank you, Mr. Stoffey! Fortunately, the chosen song ended up being a good bit less obtrusive than I had initially feared and the listening experience wasn’t quite as torturous as it assuredly could have been. In a vacuum, while avoiding the overly buoyant friskiness and garish leads I was dreading, “Through A Glass, Darkly” is still bland to an almost offensive extent. There’s no perceptible drive, no sense of immediacy; all it ever does is plod along, the riffs reduced to flimsy silhouettes that might as well be inarticulate background noise. I hadn’t heard of Warbringer before and just saw they’re actually a thrash band, so I’m assuming the track at hand is an anomaly on an otherwise dynamic release, the album’s ballad so to speak, which would explain the high ratings on this very site. Be that as it may, this song on its own did absolutely nothing for me.

It appears to me that Warbringer are most often identified as thrash metal… could’ve fooled me with this song! While I could listen to nothing but death metal for the rest of my life and be beyond happy, I would much rather listen to thrash metal than melodic death metal, this song sounding like a prototypical example of what I dislike about the latter. Melodic death metal, except for a very few cases for me, mostly lacks the energy and songwriting/technical variety that I absolutely adore about (the vast majority of) the rest of the death metal genre and its subgenres. That is not to say I absolutely can’t stand melodeath; there are sections here and there that I can jive with. A bridge or solo section that brings a fresh take on the themes presented in the song thus far, subtle alterations to riff/drum structure and patterns, et cetera. However, I will say that the enjoyment I derive from such sections pales in comparison to the absolute rush I get when I hear the slam breakdown in “Liege of Inveracity”, or the completely world-crushing onslaught 1.75 minutes into “The Earth at its Knees”, and so forth. Melodeath on the other hand, nine times out of ten, will opt for a continuation of a centralized melody to and beyond ad nauseam. All of that said, “Through A Glass, Darkly” contains just enough of the good attributes of a melodeath song for it to hold my attention for its duration. Fans of melodeath will most likely enjoy this song, but if I am being honest, I would much rather listen to death metal with more energy and dynamics.

Régression Humaine by Helzgate — Ford’s pick

Tordre la Terre — 03.14.2025 — Self-released — Spotify

Tech death seems to be more polarizing to death metal listeners than your average metal subgenre. It can be hit or miss for me, but Tordre la Terre was a definite hit, and this is my favorite track from it. The song opens innocently enough with some mid-paced chugs and works its way into a vaguely sorrowful section featuring some lengthy chords, dripping with emotion. A somewhat contextually serene segue eventually ramps up in intensity. After dialing it back in a particularly somber segment, the song absolutely erupts and finishes with a fury not every group can evoke. I really enjoy songs that can run the listener through many emotions effectively with their atmosphere, and “Régression Humaine” did that for me. Helzgate are from Montreal and I did not have access to the translated lyrics, but the atmosphere on this EP, and particularly this song, effectively tells a story all by itself.

Disclaimer: I’m a sucker for French lyrics in death metal; so much so that their presence often elevates otherwise unremarkable material for me. That’s not to say that Helzgate’s debut is forgettable — it’s anything but. These Canadians play a blackened rendition of modern tech death, at times sprinkling it with progressive elements. Instead of relying on fretboard wankery, they put atmosphere and, most of all, intuitive rhythms to the forefront. Circling back to my disclaimer, this isn’t a song I would have chosen to represent this release, but hearing vocalist Louis-Paul Gauvreau enunciate the lines “nous réconforter” and “de cette régression” gets me every time. “Régression Humaine” is one of the more introspective tracks on Tordre la Terre and lacks much of the impulsive energy I value this EP for. Still, it’s a worthy inclusion here. If you ever wondered what The Way of All Flesh would sound like if it was a technical death metal album, check this out.

So for me, it’s impossible to think of the French Canadian death metal scene and not think of tech, so this Helzgate track doesn’t come as a surprise aesthetically. The production feels right given the intention and as far as that aesthetic is concerned, I like the drum and guitar sound. That all being said, I think the highlight for me is actually the clean, dissonant instrumental breakdown! I like that despite the tech intention, the band tries and succeeds at incorporating a different, almost Opeth-like instrumental (I’m sure Josh would appreciate) into a more tech kind of aesthetic.

Erotic Exsanguination by Intestinal Sodomy — Lille’s pick

Erotic Exsanguination — 03.13.2025 — New Standard Elite — Bandcamp

Alright, that’s more up my alley! Very nice fast snare stuff is always a plus! Definitely enjoying the tones production-wise. The fast snare is definitely the most interesting thing here. Riffs are pleasant to the ears, but nothing that gets me inspired honestly. The basics are great, though. If they succeed in turning up the creativity a little, it’ll be promising!

This song is short, but very sweet. The drumming is great, very fast-paced throughout and as Lille mentioned there is a lot of fast snare work that is quite well done. The riffing is chuggy at times, but there is a good amount of screeching riffs à la Robert Vigna. Mixed in you will find a smaller amount of shredding. There is a breakdown section a little after halfway through the song that may cause neck injury. The only thing I wasn’t a super huge fan of was the very gurgly (read: spewing) vocals around the same part. Other than that, “Erotic Exsanguination” was a quick listen that definitely satisfied my death metal needs.

Hey, Intestinal Sodomy! I can’t blame you for revering Defeated Sanity — it seems to be all the rage these days. This EP of yours is really sick, and I hope we’ll be blessed with a full-length in the near future. The guitars may not be the most imaginative, but they got the message across alright and regaled me with their speed and pinch harmonics. Also, your drummer rules. You heard it from the man himself: Get those creative juices flowing and you just might ascend to excellence. Signed, a new fan who takes full responsibility for the confusion leading to this bonus pick and is very happy your awesome music got spotlighted here

Emerge by Sum Lights — Nex’s pick

Dissolve | Emerge — 03.12.2025 — Self-released — Spotify

This song is more than twice as long as all tracks on the other release I was considering to pick from (which Lille went with anyways) combined, so I was hesitant to make it my choice for this week. However, I know for a fact that Ford has barely dipped his toes in black metal but recently enjoyed Dysmor by Venomous Echoes, hence I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to expose him to more dark art. Plus, I rarely vibe this much with the genre myself. While opener “Dissolve” is the more immediate piece, “Emerge”, this EP’s second and last track, features more interesting dissonant textures, and the somber, more laid-back atmosphere struck just the right chord. Leading up to the halfway point, there’s a recurring shift from ominous, sluggish atmosphere to rampant outbursts, perpetually switching between frenzied stupor and trancelike dreamscapes. Around the six-minute mark, the track conveys the sensation of tumbling and struggling, all the while sounding euphoric in its chord progression (reminiscent of “HeLa” by Car Bomb, incidentally). What follows is a staggered, increasingly monumental finale. This is acoustic storytelling at its best.

Right off the bat, I’m appreciating this idea simply by bringing me to albums I may have never even heard about otherwise. From the get-go, this song has a sick vibe; the melodies go places I wouldn’t be anticipating, which is something I like and look for. I also like the organicism of the sound. The vocalist here is extremely talented, displaying a solid range of techniques in a short span of time, utilizing both traditional sort of black metal vocals as well as an almost Mongolian throat-singing sort of technique which I love; makes me think of Attila from Mayhem, who I’m a very big fan of. As I’m moving along throughout the song, I’m liking the structure as well; a nice blend of fast and slow sections, both being done well and keeping me engaged. A lot of different bands come to mind as the song progresses, but not being too close to any one, which is great; shades of everything from Opeth to Behemoth to Mayhem. Nice fade on that outro section as well. Overall, definitely a solid tune!

Boy, there is a lot for me to digest on this song. Let’s start with the obvious: I am not as seasoned of a black metal listener as I am a death metal listener, so a 12-minute metal track with significant black metal leanings throws me a bit for a loop, but I can still comprehend most of what I am hearing. “Emerge” kicks off with a very mellow repeating chord progression. The direction it takes from there slowly moves toward intense cacophony, and by about halfway through, the song is assaulting your senses with somewhat dissonant riffing and pounding percussion. What remains constant up to this point in the piece is a vague feeling of melancholy, presented by conflicting moods in the sound. Are we relaxing or not? Is what’s going on good or bad? A little over halfway through, the melancholy disappears, and the pure-hearted are offered a glance of what evil sounds like. The melancholy undertones return briefly, until a hellish shriek cuts through our souls. At this point, nine and a half minutes into the 12-minute journey, we, as seasoned extreme metal listeners expect everything to head “south of heaven”, so to speak. The track teases our sensibilities with ease here, and then the unlikely happens; we are treated to a climax that forces us to examine the very nature of a good/bad dichotomy. Clean vocals, then major-key chords. The sound slowly fades, an overwhelming sense of victory achieved. To me, “Emerge” presents a melancholic struggle between good and evil (the first half of the song), but ultimately challenges the listener to realize that life and reality are not always as simple as “good versus evil”. The world does not always provide easy, cut-and-dry answers to problems. But if you look (or listen) hard enough, there can always be hope, and hope can lead us to victories of the soul. “Emerge” was not only a fantastic listen, but it caused me to re-evaluate my expectations and, ultimately, my ability to persevere emotionally. An absolutely fantastic, thought-provoking epic.

Other noteworthy releases from week 11:

Thanatophobia – Twilight Space Theatre (B)

Confronting Rot – Deranged (S)

Ophidious – Forgotten Shrines of Heresy (S)

Depraver – Necrocryptic Obliteration (S)

Wombbath – Beyond the Abyss (S)

Rale – Spirit Death (S)

– Calendar week 12 –

Rot Moderne by Imperial Triumphant — Jacob’s pick

Goldstar — 03.21.2025 — Century Media — Spotify

I have to admit I am a bit of a purist when it comes to music. I usually stick to the “real deal” rather than derivatives. When it comes to dissonant death metal, it’s no different. A lot of times, I come across a new band in the genre and after a couple of songs my mind goes to “let me put on From Wisdom To Hate instead”. That said, I did enjoy Imperial Triumphant a lot when we played a show together a few years ago, and they have been on my radar since. So I gave their new album a good listen, and while it didn’t all grab my interest the same, a few tracks like this one right here stood out. It’s very Gorguts-y in its approach — that opening riff after the drum accelerando has got to be a tribute to Obscura — but has a bit of a jazzier (clean) bass that goes between walking bass and rhythmic counterpoint to a sort of slide-y (fretless?) wahwah effect in the late buildup before a final alteration of the main theme. That was cool! The main theme alone is nothing extraordinary, but the way it gets constantly broken up and the bass and drums play around is what gives it its bizarre and less predictable shape. The ideas they are incorporating seem original and there are plenty “out there” moments to keep it interesting for me.

I agree with Jacob’s assessment that this evokes vivid connotations of Gorguts. Zach and Co must also be ardent Defeated Sanity fans (who isn’t?), seeing as that intro is clearly inspired by Phytodigestion’s. Yes, DS were the first to implement that stylistic device and you can’t convince me otherwise. What’s that? You’re saying it’s supposed to be the sound of the hype train leaving the station? Aight, aight, score one for you. As I̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶v̶i̶o̶u̶s̶l̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶u̶c̶h̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶t̶i̶m̶e̶l̶i̶n̶e̶ I’m about to point out in my Burning Palace blurb, fans of dissonant any-metal haven’t exactly been starving these past few years, but I find that Imperial Triumphant still manage to protrude from the increasingly crowded legion the roster of artists pursuing chin-stroke-inducing discordant extremes has become. Experimentation and freeform expression may have taken a backseat on Goldstar, even the more abstract ideas having lost some of their edge in the wake of the band’s largely successful streamlining efforts, but make no mistake, this is still challenging music to the point where you’re guaranteed to call it pretentious if your weekend attire of choice is a musky cut-off plastered with Scorpions and Motörhead patches (no shade). “Rot Moderne”, while all in all more accessible than anything you’d find on Spirit of Ecstasy, stands out as one of the more forward-thinking compositions thanks to its capricious nature, which is underlined by the aforementioned ever-shifting drum patterns and stumbling, meter-defying guitars — or is it backward-thinking in the face of evident Guts worship? Whatever your verdict on that may be, both the song and the album are a joy to parse. Speaking of which, click the banner above to learn how IT managed to win over listeners with infinitely more eclectic taste than mine.

Now that everyone else has mentioned Gorguts, I might as well, too. The comparisons are far from unfounded; “Rot Moderne” oozes Obscura influence. Many riff phrases and progressions adhere to no intelligible structure. At times, the instrumentation is quite jazzy in nature, and almost sounds free-form, but all instruments eventually return to a unison point, where it becomes clear that there is a structure to it, just not a structure as readily apparent as in many other pieces. Lyrically, the song addresses the excesses, habits, and social attitudes of the bourgeoisie. Imperial Triumphant is a band that I have dodged checking for years, despite many recommendations from other Sputnik users. I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I pressed play, but I can tell you that I was pleasantly surprised. Outside of the Gorguts influence, I hear a bit of Ad Nauseam in their sound as well. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a sucker for all things dissonant, so the fact that I waited so long to check this band is a bit of a mystery. I listened to the full album and “Rot Moderne” multiple times. The listens were more than enjoyable: they were incredibly thought-provoking, and I would expect much of their other material to be just as interesting.

Suspended in Emptiness by Burning Palace — Ford’s pick

Elegy — 03.21.2025 — Violence in the Veins / Total Dissonance Worship — Spotify

I know this already got staff attention, but I wanted to highlight a track off of it as well. From the beginning of this song, the overall mood and very sound evokes strong notes of Artificial Brain and Afterbirth. Burning Palace easily navigate a track that calls back to past space-themed dissodeath efforts, while infusing it with their own brand of freshness. Labyrinthine riffs and a sense of mystery, wonder, and creeping dread gleefully saturate the song, not only through Burning Palace’s instrumental prowess, but thematically through their lyrics. While not expressly original, the track is done so well that in the end, it doesn’t really matter.

The market for dissodeath has been saturated for a while now. Sure, you can dissonance-ify death metal of various prefixes, add black metal and/or doom to the mix, or build your brand with the help of gimmicks like metallic masks, but there’s only so much juice you can squeeze out of the concept before it starts feeling stale and samey. What it ultimately comes down to is recognizable songwriting, the ability to captivate the listener not just through the sheer inherent abrasiveness of it all (although that certainly has its merits), but by extending your hand to them and offering them actual, you know, songs. Sputnikmusic.com user evilford already named a band successfully implementing that idea in Artificial Brain, and while Burning Palace are not on the same level of inventiveness yet and haven’t solidified their identity quite as firmly, “Suspended in Emptiness”, like the rest of Elegy, presents a strong argument for their raison d’être. Powerful, confidently propounded and surprisingly easy to grasp, the song managed to catch my imagination on the very first spin. The band’s previous album, Hollow, was already a massively fun jam, but on this latest offering of theirs, they’ve upped the ante and found their own voice in a subgenre that’s seen no shortage of high-quality releases in recent years. This may be Disso Light™ to trained (read: farctate) ears, but you can’t deny the appeal of enjoying yourself and nodding along while having your senses grated.

This is my first time hearing of Burning Palace. Judging by this song, it is a decent version of melodic blasting death metal. The leads are a bit of the “Quebecian” kind, but otherwise the tone is more reminiscent of old school Swedish DM, albeit more brutal. They seem to have figured out their formula here with very few surprises. It is pretty straightforward and accessible with no discernible changes in tempo or time signatures throughout the track. As a listener, I feel that with a few tweaks I could get a lot more out of this, which is a shame. A more prominent bass could help the matter, if the lines are chosen well. Definitely not a bad band but not enough to keep me wanting more if I am honest.

Fuming Gulch of Innards by Leucotome — Nex’s pick

Lumped Cuts of Offal — 03.21.2025 — Gurgling Gore — Bandcamp

It’s grime time! This is by far the most straightforward and conceptually minimalistic release I chose to shine a light on, yet it was the hardest to pick a song from — despite the fact that we’re talking about a demo with a total length of under ten minutes here. The whole thing is simply fantastic and each song diverting in its own right. For starters, I love, nay, adore the production. Are the vocals too quiet at some points and coming dangerously close to clipping at others? Absolutely. Do these guys love mixing in their crunchy bass at obscene levels? The answer is a big, resounding “Hell yes!”. It’s almost as if you’re in the rehearsal room with them. This is what I remember my bands’ jam sessions to sound like back in the day, at least. Naturally, our bassists were never this audible and everything was one big mush, but in our heads the second coming of Morrisound was oozing out of our $150 combo amps. But I digress. Sitting right at the intersection of mid-90s bdm, recent os goredeath revival acts, Mucopus levels of cheekiness and MFKR-era Slipknot energy, this has quickly become one of my favorite releases of the year so far. Without trudging too far into hyperbolic territory, listening to Lumped Cuts of Offal makes me feel like I’m having the time of my life at some boisterous, exuberant party. You could argue that the short overall runtime is somewhat of a necessity because there isn’t really all that much meat on those bones, and I wouldn’t even object, but If you can’t enjoy the bouncy amusement a song like “Fuming Gulch of Innards” offers, do you even like death metal at its core, i.e. embrace its immanent cheese without taking it and yourself too seriously at all times? The answer is a big, resounding “Naw, dawg!”.

Judging by the cover, I was expecting full on grindcore and was positively surprised that this is some good fun old-fashioned deathgrind! Definitely hearing nods to Carcass and Exhumed, but also some 2000s Deathgrind flavors like Arsebreed and Gutrot. I listened to the rest of the EP and have to say that this is legitimate underground shit! Love the funky-poppy bass grooves and thrashy solos. Great energy in the playing and while the ideas are simple, they are not trying to fit a stale formula either, which appeals to me a lot. I would definitely love to catch these guys on stage sometime!

The first thing I noticed about this band was the cover of Lumped Cuts of Offal; aesthetically, it looks very grind-influenced. If you were to tell me that this was an early Napalm Death or Carcass release with Undeath’s logo slapped on it, I would have believed you. Let’s hit play, shall we? What immediately jumps out to me is the very satisfying, unpolished low-end-heavy production. The pace of the music is immediately quite grind-y. I mentioned the gritty production; this leads me to the riffs in the first half of the track. They rock. While they are furiously executed and shreddingly-fast with a palpable level of distortion, they are also crystal clear in the mix. If you’re a fan of death metal, you are probably having a lot of fun at this point. Another thing you will notice is a very heavy bass presence. The song winds a bit through what we can only assume are very gory lyrics (they were not available on Bandcamp at the time I listened). After a fun guitar solo (maybe a bit too low in the mix), Leucotome switch gears shortly with a super sick slower, more old-school chugging riff. Then they finish the track by returning to a motif we heard earlier in the song. What “Fuming Gulch of Innards” may lack in aural variety or challenging content, it makes up for by just being a lot of fun. At just over two minutes, it never overstays its welcome. Sometimes in metal, that is an achievement. In this day and age, with almost all of the music in existence at our fingertips within a moment’s notice, the importance of keeping the listener engaged with the material cannot be overstated, and Leucotome succeed in that task handily.

Other noteworthy releases from week 12:

Torturer – In Madness (S)

Cabinet – Anhedonia (B)

Ligament – Demo MMXXV (S)

Pyramid Mass – Gargling Rot (S)

OmniVexation – OmniVexation (B)

Osgraef – Reveries of the Arcane Eye (B)

Gates to Hell – Death Comes to All (S)

Oobris Ios – Vospat (S)

Rancid Cadaver – Mortality Denied (S)

Corpus Offal – Corpus Offal (S)

Horrendum Vermis – Temple ov Morbid Divinities (S)

Embrional – Inherited Tendencies for Self-Destruction (S)

Colpocleisis – Mosaic of Morbid Manifestation (S)

Pusboil – Indictment (S)

– Calendar week 13 –

Winona by Deafheaven — Lille’s pick

Lonely People with Power — 03.28.2025 — Roadrunner — Spotify

I kinda like the concept of the band. I always thought some of the true kvlt black metal reminded me a lot of these ambient parts that those old-school emo bands used. Then they came along and mixed both worlds. As with all emo and black metal tho, there is always a lot more that I’d love to hear when it comes to harmonic intelligence/depth. I still appreciate it. But every time I wanna go back to Deafheaven cuz I really like the idea, I never quite get what I wanna hear. Definitely not bad tho.

Speaking of bands that need no introduction… onto Deafheaven. So this is supposed to be like, groundbreaking atmospheric black metal, right? Vocals remind me of less intelligible The Sound of Perseverance-era Chuck vocals, and they are lower in the mix here than on that album so thank god for that. In other words, pretty typical for black metal vocals. (Sorry, I only listen to death metal so it’s my main point of reference for everything.) I think the vocal pitch found in most black metal music is at least one of the reasons I don’t jive with it hardly at all. The softer near-ambient parts of this song appear to be more effective for me than the metal parts. I hear drums in the metal parts but there are no discernable riffs to be found. The softer sections are also significantly more listenable than the loud sections. “Winona” makes me think, if Deftones went black metal. Overall it’s an OK song, but not something I will return to at all probably, and I think I will be fine without checking the album.

I’m not Frankie Palmeri, okay? I’d like to avoid making eternal enemies by ba- WAHSHUODCSUOECMOHAD! Where was I? Right. As I was trying to say, regardless of whether I’m a distant relative of dysarthria incarnate or not, I’d prefer not to talk abou- WAAAAFAAGAHAAAHARAAAAAH! Oh, for fuck’s sake… Fine. Bandandalbumaregoodbutoverratedandtheatmobitsboreme. There, I said it. Winona is a good song. Please have some pasta on the house to save me from making this even worse.

this guys are geniouses, they manage to put barely 20 minutes of music – extended with some ambient shit

and everybody thinks its the album of the year

work of art

Mitosis by Pillars of Cacophony — Ford’s pick

Paralipomena — 03.28.2025 — Self-released — Spotify

You’ve heard of sci-fi-themed dissodeath… how about science-themed technical dissodeath? Well, whether you have or haven’t heard of it, that is kind of the blend of death metal that Austria’s Pillars of Cacophony offer. All lyrics, vocals, and instruments on Paralipomena (outside of the mellow guitar solo on this very song) are credited to someone identified simply as “Dominik”. Dominik appears to be a scientist, and writes a lot of music about science. This song, as you may have guessed, is about the process of mitosis. It starts immediately with angular, dissonant riffs, shredding its way through the various stages of the aforementioned process. All instrumentation in “Mitosis” is performed excellently, and if you didn’t know by the credits that this was a one-man band, you wouldn’t be able to tell. The most interesting transition in the track comes when everything drops to zero a little over halfway through, and then we get slow, low-key jazzy drums and cymbals and a very chill acoustic guitar solo. The solo subsides and you can hear a buildup coming, and suddenly, massive cascading dissonant riffs and a wall of sound permeate the senses in a climax that completely envelops the listener, as if they have now fully realized the natural, abject horror of what is happening on a cellular level. Then it ends. This is the type of musical experience I live for. Something that makes me curious about what reality is and leaves me wanting much more. The killer riffs don’t hurt, either.

Given how mechanical and coldly calculated the heavy parts sound here, one could easily be fooled into thinking this was a concept album about mathematics, when in reality it’s treating molecular biological phenomena. Furthermore, I would have never guessed Mr. Bulfon plays guitar in a band as straightforward as slightly blackened, slightly techy death squad Seduced just from listening to any of his solo work. Too few are the shared characteristics, too numerous the distinctions: A good portion of the material on Pillars of Cacophony’s two albums, and the song at hand in particular, are defined by crystalline, often frangible axework and downright scientifically dosed discord — a stark contrast to the former’s predominantly animalistic antics. Ford has it right when he calls these riffs cascading, and it’s not surprising the guitars, helped by the dynamic production job, are running the show here. One minor gripe I have with the overall sound are the drums. Samples and DAWs have come a long way since the days of Drumkit from Hell, no doubt, but I cannot help but feel like the addition of organic transitions, natural-sounding cymbals and some good old human playfulness would go an even longer way towards lending Paralipomena that extra bit of pizzazz to make it a truly outstanding work of art. The way they are presented here, they contribute to the dichotomic (bot.) irony delineated in my opening argument.

A new one-man band from Austria, this project is leaning a bit into the Ulcerate thing. I guess I have to admit I don’t really “get” Ulcerate too much. And yes I know this is a deeply unpopular opinion but trust me, I’ve tried many times. I can do a song or two, but then it just loses me. I feel like it would be the same with this release. In isolation I can dig this track and what it’s trying to do. Dissonant broken up guitar chords over blasting (programmed) drums. The vocals sit a bit more in the background with tons of verb (I like that). The production could benefit from a bit more low-end for sure, although the lack thereof might be a stylistic choice. There’s a break somewhere before the end of the song where they go into this acoustic interlude and I think that’s a great idea to break from the theme, which shows his imagination, however the execution could (and hopefully will) still get better. The mechanical drums during the “jazz solo” for instance don’t quite match the feel of the section. A human drummer would certainly help this situation although I don’t know if there’s any intent to transform this project into a full band.

Terra de foc i pluja by God’s Funeral — Nex’s pick

God’s Funeral / Peine Kapital — 03.25.2025 — Self-released — Spotify

Why don’t we round out this month’s lineup with something chill and unhasting? When God’s Funeral appear on a split, you know it’s going to be good. After last year’s double death doom feature God’s Funeral / Bocc, they have now teamed up with French sludge doom outfit Peine Kapital, each band contributing a single song. God’s Funeral’s half of the package starts off on a wistful, self-reflecting note; slow clean guitars and folksy strings try their best to bring the listener down to earth, resetting their mood, just in case their day had been going good enough to lull them into the false notion that they were allowed to just enjoy life for once. The subsequent sludge-tinged doom riff effortlessly crushes what traces of mirth may be left. In contrast to Sum Light’s “Emerge”, this isn’t so much a contraposition of melancholic vs. heavy segments as it is a coherent, dire manifestation of tristesse, tightly gripping you and dragging you down its seemingly bottomless hole — at least instrumentally; I’m sure a song titled “land of fire and rain“ is about more than mere tribulation. Harkening back to cinematic Oceanian noughties post, the return of the string section around the midway point ramps up the drama, uh, dramatically, the implemented harmonies finally offering some relief before the meloblackish closing riff eases us out of this nine-minute soul-searching exercise. Look, I’ll make no secret of the fact that I vastly prefer the comic-villain-evil end of the death doom spectrum to the mopy palpation of my mental state on offer here. That said, there’s a time for music like this, and with everything going on in the world right now, “Terra de foc i pluja” will properly soundtrack many a thinker’s feelings when spun after some doomscrolling. If I were to judge this song purely on its proficiency merits — and let’s be clear here, this is skillfully composed, played and produced — I’d say it successfully managed to make my small daily achievements appear even more insignificant than I already knew they were.

Although I was initially thrown off by the clean intro, I really like how this track develops, and subsequently implements the violin melody back into the orchestration of the main doom death riffs that follow. In true doom fashion, the main riffs themselves feel very cyclical, which for what I surmise the aesthetic this band is going for, was on point. I think the most appealing element to me however is the climax of the song, where the melodic material presented throughout the piece seems to undergo a final development, in conjunction with the aesthetic shifting to that of traditional black metal. All and all, I like that the band isn’t afraid to incorporate these various aesthetics into one presentation, which depending on how the rest of the album sounds, is an appropriate first single, perhaps foreshadowing what’s to come.

God’s Funeral do not waste time to initiate a very sorrowful mood from the beginning of “Terra de foc i pluja”. You press play, and nothing but the sound of rain fades in. A slow and serious acoustic guitar melody soon accompanies the rain. Then violins begin with a sombre overlaying theme. I’m already crying and there are five minutes left, fuck. Suddenly, God’s Funeral come in with massive, distorted riffs and slow growls. The song has gotten very heavy musically, but we are then treated to a return of the violins, although a different motif is being played now. After some time plodding, it ends at once and the song takes on a furious note, with double bass drums and extremely crushing riffs. We are towards the end of the song now. I do not have translated lyrics available, but let me tell you that at the climax point of the song, I strongly feel like a sense of approaching, irreversible doom has been achieved. All instruments cease, except the final distorted chord and the rain areis still present, and we fade out to that very sound. Death metal and death/doom songs that establish that we, either individually or as a species, are doomed to suffer are hardly a new idea in 2025, but there are always going to be different ways to aurally illustrate that prediction. Over the course of this song, we feel sadness, sorrow, despair, anger, and eventually, acceptance. I feel like this piece represents God’s Funeral’s acceptance of the fact that our fate on this planet as humans is to suffer. The way the music progresses throughout the track also suggests to me that the knowledge of our ill-fated destiny transforms any hope we have into the very suffering we had hoped to avoid; the fact that utter agony is ultimately inescapable permeates our current condition and the grim finality of unavoidable, unending anguish haunts our every living second to the point of absolute hopelessness. This is my (potentially projecting) interpretation of this song and the feelings that it evokes, but I do feel like a lot of doom metal and death/doom tries to establish this foreboding feeling. I prefer a little more energy and less despair in my death metal in general, but there is definitely something grounding about returning to such depressing efforts from time to time, and “Terra de foc i pluja” will effectively yank the listener out of whatever unfounded elation they may currently be experiencing. As such, I found it to be quite an effective example of death/doom metal.

Other noteworthy releases from week 13:

Sarmat – Upgrade (S)

Decrepisy – Deific Mourning (S)

Vomiting Corpses – Reborn Abomination (B)

Cannibal Tyrant – Flesh Harvest (B)

Asbesticide – Sadistic Communion of Flesh

Nothing – The Self Repair Manifesto (S)

Crawling Chaos – Wyrd (S)

Fleshspoil – The Beginning of the End (S)

And there you have it — some 7,500 words later. My heartfelt thanks to Jacob, Josh, Vaughn and Lille, who dealt with my adulation and nitpicking in an exceptionally patient and professional manner. I’ve been overusing the phrase lately, but this is quite literally a dream come true. Standing at the end of this long and rocky road, there’s only one thing left to do:

Gentlemen, it’s been a blast. Is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers?

Keep supporting the underground and keep current with new and up-and-coming bands; that’s what really keeps the gears moving in the scene, and Sputnik seems to be a really good medium through which to do so!

I appreciate Sputnik for being such a dedicated community of music supporters. A rare treat since so many magazines have their ratings be influenced by advertiser money. It’s a great resource for anyone looking to read well researched and independent reviews. Please keep up the good work!

Catch Defeated Sanity on their tour through Latin America on the following dates: