The Deep End of Horror

The relentless killing machine from Belgium that is Putrified J started off as a one-man project by Jason Lambert (Klysma, Neuromoral Dissonance, Impure Violation and Human Barbecue) but eventually expanded into a duo in 2012. Since then Jason has worked with a few different people and joining him for this EP The Deep End of Horror we got Hervé Dieudonné on guitar. Putrified J has been one of the most active bands the past decade (celebrating 10 years this year) as there has been a release each year up until Kill the Living in 2016. Since then it’s been rather quiet, up until now that is!

The Deep End of Horror contains six songs clocking in on 12 minutes. Meaning it’s a rather short offering but we all know sometimes less is good, quality over quantity and all that. Does The Deep End of Horror offer the listener just enough quality music for the buck? The opener and title track “The Deep End of Horror” starts of a bit slower than I expected but on the follow-up track “Sickening Decapitation” all is good again in the slam world where the crushing drums together with the buzzsaw guitar tones and gutturals of Jason hits you straight in the face. Just the way it’s meant to! “Relentless” turns out to be even better as here it’s a more varied track on both tempo and use of vocals. Then “Undead Terror” comes along and just decides to curbstomp your face with the fastest track on the album. You don’t get any time for rest though as the previously released single “Seeds of Infamy” comes along that just like “Relentless” is showing just how varied Putrified J can bem with a killer solo to boot. “Infected Oath” closes out the album with a pure brutal death metal vibe and while I think it ends a bit abrupt it was fine while it lasted.

In the end The Deep End of Horror showcase Putrified J at its best. The only negative is that it’s short but at the same time it offers a very varied album for being slam/brutal death metal with each song sticking out and holding their own. Quality is the most important factor of course, but obviously the EP would be better with a couple more songs in it. Production value is top notch, they might even have made it a bit dirtier for that extra slam feeling but I dig it just the way it is too. Putrified J fans will get their fill here and this is yet another fine release during a Summer that’s seen already releases from Organectomy, Disentomb, Vulvodynia with Pathology and Visceral Disgorge coming up.

Originally written for The Metal Gamer