Kev Rowland
With a bandname, album title, album artwork, and even record label name providing a few clues, it was rather safe to say that this was an album of brutal death metal before it even hit the player. This is their third album, and with a band built around three brothers, it perhaps isn’t a surprise that they hit so hard. In some ways they remind me of Cryptopsy, but far blunter and raw. The production is also deliberately lo-tech, so there are times when it feels like the ears are being assaulted by a wall of sonic mud. There is a groove underpinning what they are doing, which makes this feel very much like an album from the early days of the genre as opposed to what is happening these days.
This is dark, as if the swamp thing has come to life and is going to take you in his fetid embrace, cutting off all light and hope, as you drown in a world of nightmares. The first time I played it I really wasn’t sure, nor the second, and then I realised the problem – I wasn’t playing it loud enough. This is an album which really appreciates volume, so why not share the “joy” of Meathook with your neighbours. It like being caressed by a sledgehammer…