KRUELTY - Profane Usurpation
November 25, 2024, 2 weeks ago
(Closed Casket Activities)
Fresh off last year's killer Untopia LP on Profound Lore, Japan's Kruelty are back with Profane Usurpation, a four-song EP that's just the right length to show off the band's sound.
Opener “Absolute Terror” is almost punk or old-school hardcore at points before the brutal NYDM breakdowns hit then the blasting death metal takes it home; the title track deals in swamp-trodden sludgey death that hits the Obituary two-step hard before dropping into gore-grind-infected DM then circling back to early Entombed worship.
“Bloodless Mankind” is one gross death earworm after the next; “No Fear Of Judgement” closes it off with a little of everything, the band really hitting all corners of DM perfectly here, settling in on a comfortable machine-gun rhythm that stuns and shocks before the final blow is delivered.
The only thing I'd like to see is a murkier production; I want Kruelty to sound as ugly as possible, and while this isn't clean, I want even more filth on the band's hideous sounds. Looking forward to the next full-length.