siLLy puPPy HYMN FOR THE TORTURED was an extreme metal band that formed in Tamuning, Guam in 2006 and existed for two years before disbanding. The band managed to release two EPs in that time beginning with “Carcass For The Feast” in 2007 and followed it up the year later with this sophomore release EVERY NIGHT’S ANOTHER HORROR.

This EP features five tracks like the first but runs a bit longer by extending past the 25 minute mark. The sound is also similar to the debut with a focus on the melodic death metal from Sweden with influences from bands like In Flames and Soilwork along with a frenetic black metal crossover style reminiscent of Anaal Nathrakh. The deathcore elements of go for the brutality jugular are also omnipresent as are the symphonic ambient keyboard elements that maintain the melodic underpinning during the riffing chugfest.

The tracks also have nice breakdowns that offer the entire band to focus on melodic sweeps with virtuosic guitar solos much in the vein of Necrophagist. The vocal tradeoffs of the deep guttural growls along with the pig squeals pretty much follow the same formula as the debut and occasional piano rolls offer moments of downtime from the otherwise bombastic incessant metal rampaging. Overall the compositions are a bit less brutal as the keyboards seem to dominate a bit more as the band falls into line behind the melodic touches however the brutal elements are still as bombastic as ever.

Basically EVERY NIGHT’S ANOTHER HORROR is just a more refined example of the debut as the elements presented have become more integrated and the keyboards are allowed to do more than just serve as a background hum providing the melodic underpinning. On this second EP the melodic touches are also very much delivered through the guitar, bass and drums. I think i prefer the debut a bit more but this is some quality melo-death with interesting influences from the world of symphonic black metal and the world of deathcore. Too bad these guys didn’t stick it out. I rather like the unique approach here.

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.