Nine Circles

I missed a week or two. Oh well. Such is life. But, here we are with a fresh batch of shit for you to binge on, and it’s an incredible batch of shit, to be honest. It’s yet another wave that has me on a death metal high and we’ve seen some excellent death metal thus far, but none so vile as this week. So, humor me as we go in for a few more album picks and don’t forget to check out the full listing from Monday’s Initial Descent.

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Whether you drop Fluids into goregind, deathgoregrind, nasty death metal, or whatever the term du jour, it doesn’t matter, they all fit. Over the course of two full lengths and a litany of splits, one-offs, and compilations, the band have quickly become a front runner in SICK. ASS. TUNES. Not Dark Yet obviously continues this trend but with slicker production and wider variance across the slams, plodding death metal, and hypergrind. There’s a separation here that allows complete immersion into every aspect that I haven’t picked up on previously and it’s jarring, but not that their music and aesthetic isn’t jarring, just here the experience is deeper and more well defined. “Hope Forgotten” has a fleeting glimpse of melody while “Dignity Swindled” has some serious swagger in its death march. Now, don’t mistake this for going soft. Hardly. These Arizonans go harder than ever and keep it utterly disgusting and unsettling. Fans know that short spoken/action/holy shit snippets are used and non fans need to know these samples aren’t horror movie clips or funny quips, these are pulled from real situations, and the situations are always grim and fucked. Case in point, the intro to “Genesis Spoiled” crushed my fucking soul and I don’t remember ever having that type of reaction from anything, except maybe the first Faces of Death when I was a kid. No spoilers as to content, but needless to say it’s not only difficult to hear but also sets a sickening, stomach churning tone to the album as a whole. One might say “why subject yourself to that?” And the short answer is: because I love this shit. Long answer is: Fluids are doing something no one else is doing with extreme metal right now and they’re doing it better than many of the bands they’ve been compared to since forming in 2018. Not Dark Yet, on first listen, is the next stop on their barbaric, terrific ride but subsequent listens reveal progression and growth in both scope and impact. What a rush!

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Since Massacre went dormant, I’ve prayed to any and all things I could to get just a small piece of that again. Now, with Inhuman Condition’s (three parts of Massacre) debut Rat God, all that praying paid off. Short story: two of the three were writing songs for the next Massacre album but broke off to do their own thing then added the third component and voila! Here we are with an album full of the kind of Floridian Death Metal we’ve been missing, or at least that I’ve been missing. “The Neck Step” kicks off with a sick swamp groove then transitions to a thrashy tempo while “Killing Pace” centers on melody and riffs. The title track is a barn burner of shredding and growls and “Crown of Mediocrity” beams with some of the sickest musicianship on the entire album. Sure, parallels can be drawn to many legends of the Floridian scene from way back, but who cares? This is excellent and they’re not trying to be anything other than what they are nor are they trying to do something new or push boundaries. The riffs, blasts, thrashy counterpoints, solos, grooves, and growls all service the songs for maximum enjoyment in lieu of making the music fit the lyrics, and for this, Inhuman Condition wildly succeed. Oh, and they’ve got a few guest slots in the form of Rick Rozz and Paul Mazurkiewicz which add some spice and flavor to their already delicious dish. I can’t recommend this enough for anyone missing some slappin’ Floridian DM, but more than that, for anyone that loves straight forward death metal that forces some ass moving. Bravo.

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I had a couple more, but honestly these two have been pretty much my entire focus since they landed and will be for some time to come. Fun was definitely had and hopefully these picks will have the same effect on you to the point where you decide to drop coin on both of them. Anyway, until next time…

–Josh