Endometritis - Dehiscent Purulent Abdominal Viscera [EP] (2012, Self-released)

Thing's are going great for slam all over the world. The scenes in the US, South America, Japan, Southern Asia, Germany, Russia and even Scandinavia are doing great with numerous talented bands doing their part with great EPs, demos and full lengths to further fucking SLAM.

Tracks of a length of more than 3 minutes is more or less an unusual sight in slamming brutal death metal. However, of the three tracks on Endometritis' demo "Dehiscent Purulent Abdominal Viscera" two of them are of a length greater than that benchmark, the longest one clocking in at a stunning 6:09 minutes. This track, which insidently is also the first one, sets the tone for the next 13 minutes with a murderously slow exhibition of brutal death metal.
Continuing in the same crushing manner the German band delivers a gorey torrent of killer riffs and some of the most well-performed and most varied vokills I've ever heard in a slam band. The second track "Squelching Postcoital Contraception About Ovarian Cysts" is a monumentally fearsome piece of slamming brutal death metal and really is the EP's main centrepiece, where it feels like Endometritis have really given it all they've got.

The last track, Ulcus Durum, is probably the EP's weakest track, and it feels like it's only there as a kind of filler track.
Despite all the commendable features of the "Dehiscent Purulent Abdominal Viscera" demo EP I wish they had a more aggressive, heavy and organic guitar tone. The drums could also be a little more crispy without losing brutality, and I feel Endometritis' music deserves the best sound available.

In short, Endometritis might be one of the next big things in German slam. They're playing a death metal/grindcore festival in Denmark this summer (2012) and, if I remember correctly, have some new material coming out soon. 8/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Disgorging Foul Excrements
2. Squelching Postcoital Contraception About Ovarian Cysts
3. Ulcus Durum

ENDOMETRITIS official site
Download the EP and listen for yourself HERE

Digging Your Tomb - Demo(lition) [Demo] (2011, Self-released)

Slams all around! That's the feeling you get when you listen to Digging Your Tomb's 4th demo, the not-so-originally titled "Demo(lition)". The brutal Spanish trio delivers supreme guttural might on three masterfully crafted songs with more goresoaked vocals and slam riffs than you can shake a stick at.

Digging Your Tomb are pretty similar to the Norwegian butcherers in Kraanium in terms of the thugget-out-ness of their slams aswell as the way they build up their songs and the guttural style of the vocals. Like any good slam demo, Demo(lition) features cripling slams and breakdowns at both high and low tempoes, and compared to other upcoming bands of the genre they seem to have a little better understanding of song flow.

One thing about slamming brutal death metal bands though... I find it hard to be really enthusiastic about them, probably because there are so many of them. You wouldn't get excited over someone who had a nice ball-point pen either, would you? It's beginning to feel the same way with slam bands, even if Digging Your Tomb display an obvious expertice in the field.

All in all Digging Your Tomb isn't crazy technical, but one of the great things about this genre is that the music doesn't need to be blistering fast and hard to play. In a way I'd call Digging Your Tomb's demo the easy listening of slam. Though "brutal" is a descriptive term every scene kid and their dogs throws at every band who's lyrics are about gore or death I think that Demo(lition) is mighty brutal in every sense of the word! 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. 666 Deads
2. Inhuman Hostility
3. Weaponized
4. Outro

DIGGING YOUR TOMB official site
Listen for yourself HERE

Encephalopathy - Promo EP 2011 [EP] (2011, Self-released)

It seems like everybody and their grandmothers play in a slam band these days. Obviously this leads to a very large quantity of immensely mediocre bands, but every so often you stumble upon a shining gem... Encephalopathy is one such gem. Their tendency towards devastatingly heavy and crushing slam riffs combined with the inhuman pus-dripping vocal efforts of band frontman Matze makes for some effin' great slamming brutal death metal.

With chugs-a-plenty Encephalopathy is like an unstoppable train of low- and mid-tempoed brutal death metal. But as with any train it's just railroaded in one direction. The German three-man abomination against nature has very little variety on their three track demo, and while the few gore-soaked tracks are like little bits of chocolaty goodness they've limited themselves to a small niche of death metal by doing little more than the mandatory in regards of guitars, drumming and vocals.

It's not fair to say that they're completely unvaried. They don't fall in every stereotypical pit of slam, like ultra-slow breakdowns with below guttural growls, and every so often they sneak in a little blast beat or two. When listening to this demo EP you won't get bored and while Encephalopathy never reach lightspeed their sense of flow is remarkably good. Their compositions are truly a worthwhile listen. Only thing is that with the lack of speed also comes a certain lack of intensity which means most of their material sort of lacks a climax.
The lack of variety means I can only give them 7/10 guitars, but I will definitely be on the lookout for new material.

Tracklist:
1. Fetus Throatfuck
2. Cut Her Lips Off
3. The Sad Story About a Rotten Head in my Fridge

ENCEPHALOPATHY official site
Download and listen for yourself right HERE

Amputation Spree - Three / Inferno [EP] (2011, Self-released)

Being a relatively new genre slamming brutal death metal has yet to see much innovation and change. Most slam has a very modern sound and a few elements in common with the loathed deathcore genre and Amputation Spree, the "thinking man's slam", is no exception.

The American one-man band with lyrics centred around the abstract and esoterical offers low-to-mid paced slam with little going on other than ultimate brutality. The vocals are gurglingly guttural, the riffs are good and the drums are... Well, inhuman. The guitars have a tendency to be surprisingly melodic at times, and while the vocals, although heavily processed, are good most of the times. There are few moments on this three-track EP that seem rather cheesy, especially in the first track where there are parts with clean singing. Stuff like that really bothers me because it contradicts the straight-forwardness that otherwise marks "Inferno".

This third EP by Amputation Spree generally has a heavy feel to it, which is really emphasized by the pounding drummachine. The last track seems a bit out of place on this short release, mainly because it sounds mostly like one of those cyber-deathcore-technogrind bands that seem to be so in nowadays. It sort-of goes against the flow of the EP and were it not for that particular track I'd say this project of Spencer van Dyk is very much like Shawn Whitaker's Incidious Decrepancy. Overall you could say that Amputation Spree is an alternate take on slamming death metal with a crispy guitar sound and tasty melodies, but with little depth and few layers. 6/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. The Whore of Babylon
2. Messiah
3. The Age of Reason

Visit Amputation Spree on Bandcamp

Amputation Spree - Messiah [Track] (2011, Self-released)

The more brutal side of death metal first came to the fore with bands like Suffocation and Dying Fetus. Since then many bands have experimented with the genre and with Devourment and arguably Mortician came "slamming brutal death metal", which is essentially brutal death metal with a focus on the moshing parts rather than the blasting parts. Slam has been getting a lot of attention during these last years, both negative and possitive. There are several slam bands that borderline deathcore, which is notoriously hated by many metalheads, but a great number of brutal death metal bands can also be hard to distinguish from slamming bands.

The one-man project Amputation Spree from North Carolina in the US to me is one such band. While featuring no -core elements, the new single "Messiah" definitely has some dominant slam parts. The pathologically themed band excels in relentlesly chugging ultra brutal death metal with deep guttural vocals and slamming parts. All of these elements put together make for some pretty good low-tempo brutal death metal, but I'd have to say that if you're not into brutal death metal the song Messiah isn't going to change your mind.

The otherwise good track has a tendency to boomy guitar sound, inaudible drums and some repetitiveness. If you're acquainted with Amputation Spree's earlier material - like Addicted to Beheading Children - you won't be surprised, for Messiah follows in the same magnificently brutal style. If Messiah is representative of the upcoming 3-song EP I won't be disappointed. 6/10 guitars.

Amputation Spree - Messiah is available for free download HERE
Visit Amputation Spree on Bandcamp

Krotchripper / Mass Murder Messiah - Split (2010, Sevared Records)

Krotchripper from Illinois, who formed in 2009, have already since their creation released one five-song demo and this split, both in 2010. Mass Murder Messiah from Wisconsin formed in 2007 and released one demo in 2009 and this split in 2010. Brutal death metal as a genre has had a huge surge in popularity in the last few years and has experienced much musical advancement and has changed from the lo-fi production of the 90's to a more clean sound during the 00's. Krotchripper and Mass Murder Messiah, to me, represent the epitome of modern brutal death metal.

Right from start to finish this split delivers the unrelenting blast-brutality that you have come to expect from the slamming brutal death metal bands of today. Seldom does this release ever slow down, and mostly only because of the few samples that are scattered around the tracks. Krotchripper delivers great slamming parts with groovy headbang-forcing riffs and guttural throat-shredding vocals. While the riffs are not very varied or memorable, they still fit really well into the tracks.

The eight tracks by Krotchripper all fit well together. The flow throughout Krotchripper's part is great and the only interruptions are the samples. The consistency of the songs is remarkable and most of the tracks are outright awesome, although they are not exactly memorable. The vocals and songs in general feature very little variety, and some tracks are somewhat mediocre and standardized. Structure-wise the tracks are not very different from each other.
Only the last track "Echoes of the Trollish Wake", which sort-of serves as an outro for Krotchripper's part, really stands out from the rest of the material by being more intricately composed than the rest of the tracks. There does seem to be a tendency to just do chug-a-chug riffs during parts of some of the songs, but generally the riffs are okay.

The production is fitting for the genre, but sometimes it can be a little muddy.
Overall Krotchripper's part of the split is a magnificent show of brutal force, but it features no surprises whatsoever. Krotchripper is 100 % straight forward drummachine powered slamming brutal death metal, and if that is what you're expecting, you won't be disappointed.

With gurgling guttural vocals, more intricate song structures and fast as fuck blasting drummachine, Mass Murder Messiah continue the same fast-paced brutal death metal that Krotchripper started out with. The few samples seem somewhat wellchosen and are better incorporated into the tracks than what is customary for brutal death metal bands. The modern sound is representative of the newer sound of slam and the tracks are generally well composed and have a sort of technical expression.

Compared to Krotchripper, Mass Murder Messiah's part of the split is more varied, both tempo-wise and songstructure-wise. The groovy riffs make this part very enjoyable. The last of the ten Mass Murder Messiah tracks, "Kiss the Muscle", features guest vocals from Shaun Lacanne of Putrid Pile fame and from the producer of the split, Scott Creekmore. A nice touch, but not something you would notice if you didn't know it was there.

The tracks by Mass Murder Messiah are mixed much louder than Krotchripper's and it seems a little wierd that the volume rises when Krotchripper's part is over.
The production of Mass Murder Messiah is more clean and less muddy than Krotchripper, providing a more clinically precise sound.

There's no doubt that Mass Murder Messiah deliver exactly what you would expect after having listend to Krotchripper. More of the same kind of fast and heavy brutal death metal with incredibly deep vocals. Unfortunately Mass Murder Messiah suffer from some of the same problems as Krotchripper. Many of the songs flow together and aren't very varied, but this band has more intricate compositions which make the tracks a little more interesting.

All in all it's a great split. The bands fit together perfectly, as they are very similar but without sounding the same. The tracks flow along excellently and there are no tracks that except themselves from the general brutality of this split.

The very fitting coverart of Mike Majewski from Devourment is only ruined by poor printing. The back cover looks like it was xeroxed on a 15 year old printer and the front cover just doesn't have a very high resolution.
If you are into bands like Putrid Pile and Insidious Decrepancy you will definitely love this split.
Despite the slight lack of creativity and variety, this split has so little bad about it that it deserves a staggering 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Krotchripper - Krotchripper
2. Krotchripper - Here Kum the Troll
3. Krotchripper - Putrescent Pools of Piss and Bloody Chunks
4. Krotchripper - No Escape
5. Krotchripper - Bloodbath (feat. Goremonger)
6. Krotchripper - Terrorfucked (feat. Devon)
7. Krotchripper - Rotten Meat Rottisserie
8. Krotchripper - Echoes of the Trollish Wake
9. Mass Murder Messiah - Live Human Dissection
10. Mass Murder Messiah - Parasitic Bacterial Infections of America
11. Mass Murder Messiah - Trache Fuck
12. Mass Murder Messiah - Left for Dead
13. Mass Murder Messiah - Suffering Through the Suffocation by Means of a Gore-Filled Colostomy Bag
14. Mass Murder Messiah - Frozen Torture Tomb
15. Mass Murder Messiah - Purification Through Uncreation
16. Mass Murder Messiah - W.A.M.W.
17. Mass Murder Messiah - Penance Through Dismemberment
18. Mass Murder Messiah - Kiss the Muscle

KROTCHRIPPER official site
MASS MURDER MESSIAH official site
Sevared Records official site