THE DEAD

If you consider yourself any kind of extreme metal buff, then surely you are aware of the reputation Australia has gained for itself over the years as a hotbed of savage black, death, and war metal. Hell, it's more than savage; it is usually reckless, filthy, and goddamned deranged. Consider a cross section of acts like ABOMINATOR, DESTROYER 666, PORTAL, DESTRUKTOR, and IGNIVOMOUS. That an act like GOSPEL OF THE HORNS would be considered the "accessible" end of the dirty black spectrum drives the nail so far into the wood that the board splits in half. That brings us to THE DEAD. Before you even listen to the album, seeing "The Dead", "Ritual Executions", and "Australia" in the same sentence of a press releases makes you think "Oh yeah, this shit is going to be rotten to the core". And it is!

"Rotten" in this case means "primitive death metal", albeit with a distinctly septic twist. More than a twist actually, "Ritual Executions" is like a virulent mutation of doom/sludge and old school death metal; think very generally along the lines of early ELECTRIC WIZARD meets AUTOPSY with gaps bridged by early Stockholm Swede-death, INCANTATION (well, sort of),and GODFLESH minimalism, which still doesn't quite describe it. More to the point, it is 47 minutes across seven often lengthy/stoner-jammy tracks of encrusted, stripped down death metal and sludgy/doomy plod that pops, sizzles, buzzes, and fuzzes through what might as well be vintage tube amps on the verge of blowing. It is the sound of acid melting flesh, hammers bashings skulls, and air being forced through bong water, led by resin-coated subterranean death vocals and accented with coked up, sadistic screams. It all mixes up in a way that brings enough bludgeon bursts for the DM purists, but more often embarks on distorted journeys to the center of greasy, chicken fried minds.

Originally released in 2009 and limited to 100 copies, "Ritual Executions" was recently reissued by new label Diabolical Conquest Records (yes, same dude that runs the webzine) with modified artwork, eight-page booklet, and given the remix/re-master treatment by Aphotic Mote of, appropriately enough, PORTAL fame. Sure, all that is important to know, but not nearly as important as being aware of the fact that "Ritual Executions" is the work of one twisted trio. Leave it the Australians…crazy bastards.