AXESLAUGHTER / CADAVERIC INCUBATOR - Split

Release date June 22/18 (Iron Bonehead)

Time for another extreme metal split EP review.

First up, Axeslaughter who come out of the gates in full Celtic Frost-worship mode with opener 'Primordial New Age Dream'. Pulsating and throbbing in first wave black metal throes, they even throw in some 'haunting' background vocals like their heroes, albeit a little off-kilter in this case. Second track 'Dungeon Of Metal' goes all death/thrash for an enjoyable two minutes that sounds like debut-era Kreator gone death metal. Eight minutes of well executed, but not entirely original extremism.

Cadaveric Incubator come across as the more original of these two Finnish acts, going deathgrind for their opener 'Contaminated Blood'. Blisteringly fast, the guitars are placed up front for that lovely bestial feel. Second track 'Necroterrestial' starts out the same way, but quickly transforms into a trudging doom-laden stomp of a conclusion.

Topping it off, the vocals are of the indecipherable, guttural utterances of your local sewer dweller, adding to the overall filthy ambiance.

Altogether an enjoyable 15 minutes of sonic mayhem for metal extremists who crave to explore the netherworld.

[6.5]