siLLy puPPy VASCULITIS in medical terms is a group of diseases that destroy blood vessels by inflammation and the perfect moniker for this Australian deathcore band from the far northern Coral Sea coastal city of Mackay in Queensland, Australia. Engaging in a sort of brutalizing slam death metal mixed with core elements, VASCULITIS joins the wave of a never-ending legion of like-minded skull crushers that vie for the extreme jugular of taking metal to its limits.

So far this band has only released this debut EP titled A MONUMENT TO VIOLENCE and except for the snippets of audio samples that begin and end this set of five tracks (reminding me a bit of Pig Destroyer), this EP of 19 minutes playing time certainly does glamorize the pummeling cacophony of sonic violence that will surely please any mosh pit addicts and those who crave a never-ending supply of deathcore fueled adrenaline.

While this style of extreme metal can certainly become generic rather quickly, VASCULITIS stands out in that the three members of vocalist Liam Briggs, guitarist Ben Burrows and drummer Michael Maynard (where’s the bassist?) provide an almost danceable procession of heavy chugs that is part slam death metal, part grindcore and at times employs even a bit of doom metal to build the proper tension but for the most part this band engages in a barbaric onslaught of the innocent and the conquering of the senses with a bombastic display of explosive deliveries of no nonsense metal madness.

What i like about A MOMUMENT TO VIOLENCE is that the band has mastered the art of tempos and dynamics and not relying on an incessant speedfest that never stops. The guitar parts are actually quite varied with some taking on an early Terrorizer style quality as well as developing more modern blitzkrieg techniques. The vocals are well within the world of death m metal with guttural growls and the drums employ blastbeat techniques as well as more varied jazzified gymnastics. While not substantially existing outside the world of deathbed core music, VASCULITIS certainly has embarked on a path that sets them apart slightly by walking that fine line between death metal and grindcore thus blurring the distinctions completely.