Oodles of Brutals VIII: Season of the Slams

After another lengthy hiatus, Oodles of Brutals returns! To these ears, there hasn’t been a ton of noteworthy brutal death metal and slam released this year, but I’ve managed to dig up a few new releases and crucial reissues that I think you’ll enjoy. So without further ado, let’s dive headfirst into the gore.

Of course, the biggest news in the land of brutality this fall is Corrupting Influence, the new album from slam OGs Internal Bleeding which will be released this Friday.  Unfortunately, I don’t seem to get promos from Unique Leader anymore, but the band has released two preview tracks, “Final Justice” and “Focus” and both of these songs bring all the knuckle-dragging, slamming heaviness you’d expect from the band that pretty much invented the subgenre.  Tragedy recently struck the band when founding drummer Bill Tolley passed away while working as a New York firefighter, but if these two tracks are anything to go by, Corrupting Influence serves as a fitting tribute to one of the best drummers in slam, not to mention a comrade and fallen hero.

Swiss slammers Carnal Decay really brought the pain last year when they released the ridiculously heavy You Owe You Pay and just a year later they’re already back with another helping in the form of the short but sweet When Push Comes to Shove EP.  It’s less than ten minutes long, but that’s all the time Carnal Decay needs to cave your fucking skull in.  Indeed, this band brings the beatdown in a way that few others can muster, combing slamming pit-riffs with the shit-kicking swagger of tough guy hardcore to create tunes that straddle the line between genres without degenerating into deathcore bullshit.

If you were reading THKD last year, you might recall my affection for Vomit Remnants’ second album, the aptly-titled Hyper Groove Brutality.  As such, I’m happy to report that the Japanese brutal death metal masters’ classic first album Supreme Entity is finally back in print on CD.  Vomit Remnants are one of the first and most important BDM bands to emanate from Japan, pre-dating the likes of Infernal Revulsion, Gorevent and Rest in Gore by several years; it’s been nearly two decades since Supreme Entity‘s original release and over a decade and a half since the last reissue, so to say that this was long overdue is a gross understatement.

Indeed, Brutal Mind’s re-release of this legendary platter of splatter sounds as gnarly today as it did back in ’99, possessing some seriously sick grooves and grotesque guttural vocals.  The production scheme is every bit as filthy and fucked as you remember it, but that only adds to the charm of one of brutal death metal’s most underrated albums.

The reissue also includes some bonus live tracks; the sound quality is ropy as all hell, but they’re still a fun listen.

Last but certainly not least, I recently discovered that Unmatched Brutality Records has a Bandcamp page. For those that aren’t familiar, the label is owned by longtime Brodequin guitarist Mike Bailey and is responsible not only for releasing that legendary band’s discography, but also for classic albums from the likes of Heinous Killings, Liturgy and Inveracity, to name but a few. At the moment they have quite a few of their most well known releases posted and I’m hopeful that eventually their entire catalog will be available digitally.

https://unmatchedbrutalityrecords.bandcamp.com

That wraps it up for this edition of OOB.  Do you have any brutal/technical/slam death metal recommendations for THKD and its readers? Sound off below in the comments!