If you read even a fraction of the death metal reviews out there, you’ll notice a certain vocabulary used to describe the latest releases. You might get “bludgeoned” by this album, or “shredded to bits” by that one, or experience the “systematic decay” of that one way over there. “Maelstrom.” Just any inclusion of the word “maelstrom.” That’s another one. And all this is completely silly! It doesn’t tell you anything about the actual music within, and it makes it far too easy to just assume every album within the genre is just serving up the same pile of slop.

I’ve been guilty of this kind of low-brow nonsense on numerous occasions myself, and I almost fell into the trap again while trying to assess the new Cutterred Flesh album, Love at First Bite. But let’s not go that route. After all, this is an entirely decent set of tunes that doesn’t deserve such half-assed tropes in its review. For both the band and my own self respect as a writer, I wanna do less of that shit. So let’s start right now.

Love at First Bite wastes no time pulling you in. “Xenomorphic Annihilation: Earth Ravaged” starts things off at a tempo that’d make me want to call a rapid response and reach for the defibrillator at my day job. Guitarists Vitali Novak and David Krombholz play off each other masterfully, exchanging nimble, harmonized bursts with one another before jumping right back into chuggy lockstep with the rest of the band.

Cutterred Flesh have been churning out brutal death metal like this for more than 20 years. They know what they’re doing, and they make their expertise abundantly clear. But what’s proven particularly enjoyable about Love at First Bite is how much depth the album’s got. There’s a good bit more to digest here than just the brutality.

At times, this richness is immediately obvious. Take “Repeated Intersexual Misunderstanding,” where at different points the band slows things down to mere mortal tempos, plays around with dissonant chord interactions, or even — at around the 2:30 mark — introduces a bit of groove to its riffage. Later, on “Descent Into Torment of Abyssal Whispers,” drummer Jakub Bayer incorporates a touch of syncopation here and there as he attacks his skins. (Difficult to headbang to? Maybe. Compelling? Definitely.)

But sometimes, the notes of depth are subtler. Listen to the haunting… vocal? synth pad? whatever it is… that lingers over top of “Sarkam’s Wrath Unleashed.” The song doesn’t need this little touch — it goes plenty hard, and it’s great for a game of “drink every time you hear a pinch harmonic” — but it gives you just enough of a focal point away from the main proceedings to keep you listening actively. Similarly, “Code of Zuurith” does some neat tricks with its guitar production — fading ascending licks to one side as parallel licks descend on the other side of the mix, or building additional guitar layers on top of the two primary tracks to create atmosphere.

Now, none of this turns Love at First Bite into 10/10, death affirming material, necessarily. I’m not a particular fan of the brutal death sub-sub-genre normally, and I don’t know that listening to this has made me see any light or want to take a deep dive. But! It’s a perfectly listenable album in its own right, and — maelstrom or not — Cutterred Flesh deserves credit for that.

Keep it heavy,
—Dan

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Love at First Bite is available now on Transcending Obscurity Records. For more information on Cutterred Flesh, visit the band’s Facebook page.