Alright, it’s about time we got back to basics here.  Enough of this highfalutin philosophy, enough depression and emotion.  I want to forget basic arithmetic and become a Neanderthal reborn and the way to do that with the most brutal efficiency (pun intended) is via death metal in its purest form.  Fortunately, I know 20 Buck Spin is exactly the place I need to go to get that particular fix, and as it happens Laceration are releasing their sophomore full-length and label debut I Erode this week.  Lucky for me this album comes at what appears to be just the right time.

There must be something in the waters of the Bay Area that makes killer heavy metal.  The only other place on Earth that seems to have a wellspring that never runs dry is another bay, that of Tampa (and Orlando is close enough too, I guess).  Even though they’re located clear on the other side of the country, it’s this spiritual connection that unites Laceration with their predecessors from Tampa and beyond.  I Erode is promised to be packed full of all the hallmarks of what makes death metal great, especially that classic era we all know and love.  You can pretty much already tell what you’re going to get, and you know that it’s going to be as solid as solid gets.  It’s the balance of technicality and musicality that makes I Erode shine though, with spicy riffs, wild, whammy-bar driven solos, and frenetic blasts mixed with mid-tempo stomps.  There’s plenty of nasty moments all over the album, and most of all, they’re catchy as they can be.  The solos in particular are to be lauded.  You can really tell these guys must spend a fortune replacing the whammy bars on their guitars the way they abuse them in the best way possible.  The slimy, dissonant and aggressive guitar work is also surprisingly melodic at times, in a way that recalls the classic tones and vibes of Morbid Angel and the like.  I Erode lives very squarely in a time and place that the band does not exist in, but they manage to capture all of the energy and, more importantly, all the stylistic attributes, as if checked off from a list one by one.

But that’s where I find I Erode being a little lost on me.  God help me, I can’t believe I’m typing these words out, but I think I want something more from this album than just the classic hallmarks.  Mostly because there is so much potential here from all the members of Laceration, and I think I Erode shows them playing it a little too safe.  Everything about I Erode works, but it doesn’t do anything that really makes me stand up and take notice, and I think I would like it to do that.  For instance, one of the things I was promised on I Erode that I didn’t get was thrash elements.  Thrash and death metal are not a novel combination, but I do feel like dialing that element up a ton and delivering on that promise would help break the mold a little and set Laceration apart from pure Florida-scene-worship.  Don’t get me wrong: there’s nothing objectively wrong with I Erode, and it is a fun listen.  I just find myself waiting for moments that don’t happen, and that makes me a little disappointed.  The lead work here from Donnie Small is so, so good and I wish there was more of it (see the wild abandon of the short-but-sweet solo on “Carcerality”).  Aerin Johnson’s drums are spot on (goddamn, the opening to “Carcerality” is insane), and I wish there was a little more diversity present to really show them off.  The riffs are killer, and I think with a little push they could really do something unique with the talent that they have (read: make more songs like “Carcerality”).  Still, there’s a lot here to be pleased by too, and I don’t want to sound too negative.  If anything, it just means that I’m hoping the next Laceration will, to borrow a phrase from a colleague and sibling, “blow my tits clean off.”

At the end of the day, I Erode giving us flashbacks of what makes death metal timeless isn’t a bad thing at all.  Maybe this won’t be upsetting any year end lists for me, but it’s a fun summertime jam and it has moments that are truly headbang worthy.  20 Buck Spin knows death metal, and this is most certainly it to a T.

— Ian

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I Erode is available now on 20 Buck Spin.  For more information on Laceration, visit their Facebook page.