siLLy puPPy Coming from the tiny island of Guam, a US territory, HYMN FOR THE TORTURED was an extreme metal band that mixed melodic death metal with elements of symphonic metal and the core section of the metal universe. The band existed for two years from 2006-08 and released two EPs with this debut CARCASS FOR THE FEAST appearing first in 2007.

This short EP only features five tracks that add up to over 16 minutes of playing time but for a metal band that emerged from the remote regions of the Pacific did an excellent job of crafting some nasty sounding brutal metal that added synthesized ambience. The lineup on this EP was Ken Kuper (vocals0, Andrew Ferris (guitar/bass), Dans Sussex (guitar), Sean Zeervoulakos (keyboards) and Fred Bordallo (drums).

This is actually quite an interesting mix of extreme metal styles in tandem. The band was clearly influenced by the Swedish melo-death sounds of In Flames and Soilwork but offer a more blackened approach sounding somewhat like Anaal Nathrakh. The vocals are more out of the deathcore universe with call and response methodologies carried out through deep grunted vocals and more frenetic high pitched pig squeal vocals. The tempos are super fast and the riffs are on blitzkrieg mode.

The brutality is pacified a bit by the background synth ambience that is more common with symphonic black metal bands rather than the death metal universe thus giving HYMN FOR THE TORTURED a unique mix of sounds i haven’t quite heard before with this particular recipe. While retaining a savage brutality throughout the seasoned musicians navigate their craft through the melodic underpinning and despite all this sounding a bit cheesy on paper really works quite well. The weakest link is the production but for raw filthy metal like this i’m not put off by it and works better than if it was overpolished. Actually leaves me wanting more. The album ends with a more melodic Necrophagist approach with a shredding guitar solo.