Expunged

Following two demos, Canadian HM-2 death metallers Expunged have their debut EP ready to devastate.

Crusty riffs storm to life with d-beat drums and morbid growls. There is a doomy flare to the guitars which gets broken up by hammering blastbeats, a nice little bit of variety giving some spice to the macabre assault. Expunged have some excellent hooks that stomp your teeth in with their ferociously old school swedeath style decimation, impressively atmospheric in part but overall a very visceral, to the point EP, this is impressive stuff. The rhythm sections are totally stomping, incredibly brutal while with melody and taste as opposed to just chugging for the sake of it.

Haunting leads further the aforementioned atmosphere while the mid-tempo crawling attacks not only draw on bands like the obvious comparisons such as Dismember, Grave and Entombed but we also get some very Bolt Thrower-esque moments, something I never complain about. This dynamic approach certainly adds a bit more flavour to the sound while the overall Swedeath approach is naturally here to stay. Plenty of “Wolverine Blues” level grooves creep into the grave-crawling assaults to get everyone headbanging along to the EP, really hitting hard as they storm and stomp to life with some almost Pantera reminiscent riffs occasionally coming through the rampaging Death Metal.

Clearly not lacking diversity in their songwriting approach, the mid-tempo crawling, creepy sections are what really give this release its most impacting touches with barbaric drums and meaty riffs backing up spewing vocals in a truly impeccable manner. Staunch and vicious, there is no denying that these guttural, tomb-opening, coffin-shakers hit with full throttle and such glorious groove that all death metal fans will be headbanging to this morbid dance macabre. Something I have always favoured about the Swedish death metal style are these very sections, which Expunged pull off masterfully. “Dark Age Crusade” being the best example of both this and also their atmospheric abilities, leaving it by far the most memorable and enjoyable track of the EP. It is also the most textured with the full on death-doom break towards the end which is dripping with brilliance.

This EP is a killer blend of crushing HM-2 death metal with some tight hooks and plenty of bite, accentuated and by no means softened by the occasional doomy touches. For a debut EP this is impressive material, even disregarding that fact this is strong. What it may lack in originality, it makes up for tenfold with a slew of fantastic riffs, pulverising drums and gruesome vocals, which at the end of the day is what most death metal fans are wanting anyway. If you need some savage swedeath to rupture your ears, look no further.

Written for www.nattskog.wordpress.com