DEMO/EP ROUNDUP - Mal Du Siecle, Musket Hawk and Death Worship

Onward we go further into 2019 with more and more great new releases being delivered in the form of singles, demos, EPs, etc.. Here's a roundup of three recent releases:

First up is a one-sided single from Spain's MAL DU SIECLE with a track called Lost Relics From The Ancient Satanic Cult (Bandcamp). Furious, raw and primitive black metal here, from first note to last bloodied blast beat, with some serious cackle vox summoning up the living dead. So good that it forced me to look into their previous EP from late 2017, Dark Ceremonies Under A Cursed Moon, where I discovered more of the same high quality, blistering blackness. Check out 'Morbid Visions of Suicide' - youch! [8]

Baltimore sludge/grind enthusiasts MUSKET HAWK up next with their 6-track, 25-minute aural-abuse release called Upside of Sick (Bandcamp). Stomach churning, heavy-as-concrete low-end here played at a mix of mid-tempo lurches and hardcore-fast blitzkriegs. Strangled vocals are mixed with guttural embellishments making an extreme release even more extreme. Imagine a drunk Swedish death metal band warming up with some sludge and grind covers. Punishing. [7]

If that wasn't extreme enough, let's turn to the second EP from Canada's DEATH WORSHIP entitled End Times (Nuclear War Now!). Seemingly teetering on the edge of chaos, all four tracks storm the Bastille in war metal fury with little let-up. Dive-bomb and rapid-fire guitar solos are spread within the wall-of-sound maelstrom to ensure the battle hardened will be pleased. More musically inclined and discernible than Revenge, but still likely an earache to most, place this beside Archgoat's The Luciferian Crown from 2018. Bestial black metal for the underground enthusiast. Fave track - the furious 'Slaughtersiege'. [7.5]