Sculpted Horror – Festering Death
3 min read
Band: Sculpted Horror
Title: Festering Death
Label: Redefining Darkness Records
Release date: 26 July 2019
Country: USA
Format reviewed: Digital Promo
The underground has been festering lately, and crawling from the depths comes a truly SCULPTED HORROR. Continuing the trend of old school revival we’ve been seeing a lot of lately, this crew of metalheads delivers a mix of chunky and vicious yet well-refined songs that makes it impossible to stand still. We got our first taste of “Festering Death” last year when they released a demo of the same name with just three songs independently through Bandcamp. Since then they’ve partnered up with Redefining Darkness Records for a cassette release of the material including a newly added track and mixing to make up the final product. Their classic death metal sound will surely attract fans across the genre with shades of Swedish groove similar to bands like Dismember and Grave but also a beefiness more akin to Obituary and Morbid Angel. Everything is topped off with a thick and cavernous modern vocal take which thickens the sound up a bit.
SCULPTED HORROR starts things out with “Cursed Flesh” which opens the EP with a satisfyingly crushing series of riffs with the drums and bass lines hitting just as hard. Things break out into a pretty straight forward jam, but it’s impossible not to headbang along with it. The pacing and riffs hit together and they mix up the progression to include some crawling bits and others that feel like full on storm front.
“Worship of Death” is another heavy as hell and deceivingly groovy tune, with an amazing breakout section full wicked buzzsaw picking and undulating chaos. Followed up by thick walls of percussion and ending with another beatdown of riffs. This one is an earworm that kept me coming back and will surely keep me coming back. If you are in need of a headbang, the prescription is SCULPTED HORROR.
“Night Terror” continues the trend of heavy as hell riff-driven tracks. The raw growls pair extremely well with the instrumentals throughout the listen, with every note and growl coming through in the mix. They live up to their namesake, sculpting a very refined death metal release full of festering madness. While they don’t push too many boundaries, they execute their sound and have no shortage of incredibly bone-crushing moments on the EP to keep you coming back. “Bonewalker” ends the EP with a wicked instrumental beatdown that is just another example of their horrifying and deadly groove.
I don’t think I stopped banging my head once through “Festering Death”. SCULPTED HORROR deliver a juicy chunk of meat, hopefully giving us a taste of things to come. I was left wanting more after the first few listens, happily blasting these guys as the soundtrack to my summer vacation. Their sound is heavy as all hell across the EP, but it will still be accessible for many metalheads. I am excited to hear more from this band and will be keeping an eye out for more material. Check them out and blast it loud for your daily neck workout! 8.5/10 Metal Yeti
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8.5/10 To Greatness and Glory!
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