To be frank, I approached Four Dimensional Flesh with immense trepidation. Brutal death metal and/or slam aren’t exactly locales I find myself frequenting with any kind of regularity--if I pass through, it’s usually a lone track in the midst of an otherwise innocuous playlist. While the dedication to slammin’ riffs and woodpecker-on-a-hot-tin-roof percussive fills are certainly attractive bedfellows, the trademark drainpipe gutturals and resonance chamber bree-brees really ain’t this scribes cup o’ vox.
And yet here we are, plumbing the gurgling pipes with a grim sense of glee. Why? Because Afterbirth, much like Wormhole, strives to make slam interesting. And it is this quality that remains Four Dimensional Flesh’s greatest strength amongst strengths.
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Written by: Tom
Swimming in the depths of the underworld, there lives a band named Gore Dimension. These Turkish lads only come up for air in order to dispense their brutal death metal upon the legions of fans, fans that will only accept the heaviest, goriest, and nastiest musical offerings set in front of them. With this April's release of Ethereal Realm, those fans got just what they were asking for. Gore Dimension has a great name, bringing to mind a dimension where the grotesque is normal, as its inhabitants live in a Purge-like state of homicide, where blood and gore are the only rules and everybody loses. Besides the unholy brutality on Ethereal Realm, we will also find samples from one of the most recognizable films, the cult classic, Heavy Metal! This was one of my favorite films, and having those Loc-Nar samples in here really added to my enjoyment of this album. But let's dig in a bit, shall we?
To assess Cerebral Rot's latest offering, two Village-dwellers took up the pen, making for a (somewhat) rare double review 'round these parts. Enjoy! - Ed.
Written by: Blackie Skulless
After occupying many rotations on my turntable with their debut album, Cerebral Rot have come back with another vile and fucking putrid cut of rotted metal meat. Their brand of doom/death has always had an extreme focus on all things body fluid, gore, decay, and stench. Adding tighter hooks and spreading it across a sizable platter made it stand out a little bit. Excretion Of Mortality has come by for a second serving of just that, pairing very well with the banger of a debut. Working off of something that I loved so much, that usually guarantees that it will be solid at minimum. I was a bit worried it’d be a carbon copy of Odious Descent Into Decay, and while it’s pretty similar, there is enough here to sift from the sewage. For starters, I think they align a little more with the cavernous bands of this style than before (but not entirely stepping into it). Picking up some booming bass rumbles that the likes of Spectral Voice or Carcinoid crank out was easy enough. Some of the song construction adds that little taste of “the space between the notes” as well, if you will. “Spewing Purulence” serves that with a side of pinch harmonics to let it stand out more. Its tremolo-ridden bridge back into the main riff is a nice touch too. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Wow, let’s talk about some God-tier death metal! Taking formation last year during the hellish times of a global pandemic, Finland’s Morbific have come forth a year later with a full-length to follow up last year’s debut demo. Ominous Seep Of Putridity is a raw, sophisticated pitcher of bile meant to ooze into your pores as you slowly immerse into the harsh noise. Good luck crawling out of this mess! Most notably, this disc has some of the chunkiest riffing I’ve heard on a death metal album in such a long time. The doomy presence that keeps things mid-paced without falling into full doom/death territory is a tactic pulled off tremendously. Groovy rhythms are doused in this aesthetic, served alongside some disgusting guttural vocals that bury ever-so-slightly beneath the sand for sharper leads to grate your skin. If that isn’t enough, these drums pop out with a mechanical click, giving the snare such an elementary feeling for all the right reasons. The drumming itself is excellent, so that’s like a two-for-one standout. 
Written by: The Administrator
Speaking exclusively from an admittedly shallow well of experience, there are few genres as situational as deathcore. Am I actively engaged in an a high-intensity workout? If so, deathcore is an appropriate soundtrack. Am I doing anything other than slangin' iron and sweating bullets? Deathcore is more than likely buried underneath a veritable mountain of genres I would rather spend my time with. Given this implicit bias, I have spent a lot of time listening to Osiah's latest while strutting around in the cobwebb'd cellar confines of my home gym. To their credit, however, this album has slowly started to escape the typical listening environments. The ability to hold interest outside of the usual arena is a pretty notable quality. FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: April 23rd, 2021, Feat. Frog Mallet, AntiMozdeBeast, Akiavel, and The Last Martyr4/23/2021 Every Friday, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s crumbling gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance for the following week. Today is the day we must offload all this week's new and noteworthy music, and so, in the process, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some of our choice picks from this veritable mass of fresh meat. This is what we’ll be--and have been--listening to this week at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so! All of today's releases are independently released, so show 'em some support! On the docket for today, April 23rd, 2021: Frog Mallet, AntiMozdeBeast, Akiavel, and The Last Martyr
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Dipygus: a severe and extreme deformity where the body duplicates at the caudal end. So yeah, that’s what we’re in for. The third and final of this Memento Mori run is a quick death metal spin heavily fascinated with gore, deformation, body horror, and… apes. Following their debut in 2019 titled Deathooze, Dipygus returned this year for an even more gruesome and rotted realm of Swedish-tinted riffs in the form of Bushmeat. Going in, it’s still loaded up with the utilization of samples to set the tone of the incomprehensible and overly guttural vocals. They’ve always rung in a bit of an Entombed vibe, but brought to greater extremes in abrasion and execution. “The Khumjung Scalp” is probably one of the single most disgusting songs I’ve ever heard. Matter of fact, this record draws out the riffing to far slower degrees than before, this song being a glaring example. “Osteodontokeratic Savagery” (have fun with that one) follows it up and injects a bass-loaded break before hitting an explosive lead guitar bridge. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Our next death metal cut from Memento Mori’s Bar & Grill is a Canadian dish called Altered Dead. Returning to life for their sophomore effort Return To Life, these lads bring a pretty brief offering that resides on the chaotic side. Though I wouldn’t really call this a full-on technical disc, there’s definitely a lot crammed into a small space. Thirty minutes of grueling, otherworldly riffing and a Celtic Frost cover pass by before you know it. If the album cover doesn’t give this away immediately, there’s a running theme of space and science passed through a slimy and grimy pattern for an optimal decaying experience. As guttural as the vocals are, they get somewhat stomped into the lunar surface, giving the guitars the main focal point. Occasional tastes of hardcore chugging can come through, honing in wavier tones during the slower riffs, and vibrant reverberations during the faster ones. It can get overwhelming at times, particularly when the drums blast away over-top this. But I won’t pretend it isn’t impressive. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
How nice is it to have a band whose name starts with “dis” that isn’t a Discharge d-beat ripoff? Ha, I kid! (kinda). Anyhow, Memento Mori spits out some of the meanest, brain-boiling, and ferocious slabs of death and doom/death known to man. So to start out a little run of their recent outings, I bring Disrupted. This Swedish death metal act takes charred ruins of the pioneers and reconstructs them in a horrendous and skin-scorching style for their sophomore record titled Pure Death. And what a fitting title that is, because this thing sounds as grating and brash as the rotted guillotine on the cover looks. There is nothing remotely nice, welcoming, or friendly to be had. You can probably picture the buzzing Swedish tones, but there’s a layer of grit added to these that cast an even hotter level of harsh noise. Matching this is growling vocals boosted with powerful outbursts that avoid being overly guttural, matching the riffing yet standing out wonderfully. 
Written by: Izzy
Deathcore as a genre is very prone to stagnation. While I’m entirely in support of moshable bro-core that doesn’t reinvent the wheel but still delivers something fun and full of energy, the genre had been going through a period of staleness. After the golden MySpace years had died out things started going downhill, and suddenly there was a gap to be filled by adventurous deathcore that is willing to experiment and do something new. Many of those deathcore albums that broke out of the mold and made bold new statements are ones I still remember extremely fondly today. Humanity’s Last Breath are fairly new blood, and while I had briefly enjoyed their music before in the occasions I had listened to them, I could tell Välde was gonna be something special after hearing the singles "Earthless" and "Vittring." Their strange and progressive approach to deathcore songwriting filled with unique guitar effects and off kilter winding passages entranced me and left me excitedly anticipating if the final product would deliver, and it did. Välde is one of the most refreshing pieces of deathcore in recent memory. |
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We provide thoughtful reviews of music that is heavy, gloomy...and loud enough to wake us from slumber. Written by a highfalutin peasantry!
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