Artorias – Rout
After releasing two demos in 2016 and 2017 respectively, Iowa’s Artorias return with guns blazing on their first proper EP, Rout. Clocking in at a mere five minutes in length, Rout refuses to meander about and makes every bludgeoning second count. The band’s sound blends elements of both hardcore and metalcore, with a dash of grindcore for good measure. This amalgamation results in five brief, blistering tracks that are in no shortage of rage-fueled riffs, breakdowns, and volatile shifts. Album opener “False Equivalence” comes stampeding out of a dense cloud of feedback with an arsenal of chugging, steamrolling riffs, battering listeners with vitriolic modern metallic hardcore. “What Lies At the End of My Intentions” switches gears by channeling early metalcore with its bursts of angular riffs and off-kilter, dissonant beatdowns. “A Ghost in Waiting” offers more surprises and bloodshed with its frantic shifts between darkened hardcore blitzes, noisy breakdowns and frenetic riffs. In summation, those
looking for a quick listen and a quick beating will want to check out Artorias‘ Rout.
Rating: 7/10
Release Date: April 13, 2018
Label: Independent
Favorite Tracks: “Vulture Shrine”, “What Lies At the End of My Intentions”
For Fans Of: Vein, Wake, Ed Gein and Graf Orlock
Cyclopean Blood Temple – Unholy Union
Cyclopean Blood Temple unleash 14 minutes of unyielding, chaotic grind on their debut EP release, Unholy Union. Dark, vile, and extremely unpredictable, this Florida quartet utilize a unique and caustic form of grindcore to eviscerate their listeners. The songs rip and roar with the genre’s innate hyper-speed fury, but are also brimming with gruesome dissonance and blackened sensibilities. The record kicks off with the dizzying one-two punch of “Worship” and “Dead Alive”. “Worship” drowns listeners in a swirling murk of disfigured, serpentine, cacophonous riffs that bring Portal‘s latter work to mind, while “Dead Alive” crushes with brooding hardcore attacks, disemboweling death metal, and skull-caving breakdowns. The album’s shortest track, “Temple of Torment”, also proves to its most straightforward grind assault, even though it still embodies the band’s singular sense of ugliness. The album’s three-minute centerpiece, “Outer Darkness”, proves to be the record’s heaviest moment. The track features a monstrous barrage of blackened, tremolo-picked grooves that ultimately bleed into an off-kilter, dissonant sludge march that will bury listeners under its weight. All-in-all, Unholy Union is the best debut Cyclopean Blood Temple could ask for. Fans of getting completely torn to shreds, take note.
Rating: 8/10
Release Date: May 5, 2018
Label: Independent
Favorite Tracks: “Worship”, “Dead Heaven”, “Outer Darkness”, and “Deep Burial”
For Fans Of: Wake, Vermin Womb, Piss Vortex and Dead in the Dirt
