We live in dark times with a very real threat that things only are going to get worse. So much of that can be dropped into the laps of humanity as people fall deeper into a chasm of misinformation, baseless conspiracies, political carnage, and societal bloodletting that preys on the marginalized and the less fortunate.
LA-based destroyers Swampbeast have returned with a bloodthirsty new record “Offering of Chaos, Lamenting in the Blood of Man” that contains easily some of their most destructive music to date. This 10-track, 39-minute album zeroes in on the chaos that’s enveloped this world and the pathway within us to try to avoid the worst of it, and the band’s music is more than up to the task of exposing this all. It’s easy to get caught up in the audio violence committed by Swampbeast—drummer/vocalist Marecov Mena, guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist Mike Royal, guitarist Josey Aguilar, bassist Eric Cruz—and taking on this brawler will leave you bruised mentally and physically.
“Transmutations of Human Flesh” just rips open, a total black metal-style front, savage and entering into dizzying madness. Ferocious howls make the ground quake, lathering through ominous darkness, driving to a fiery end. “The One Below” scorches, a crushing pace adding to the accumulating force, the heat melting through devastating howls. The playing chars and defaces, causing blood to flow as we head into “Valley of Defilement” that blasts with tricky guitars. Infernal power mashes faces as everything is turned to dust before demonically reforming. Rubbery, slashing playing peaks, the growls decimating, the speed and carnage pushing to a stabbing end. “Brand of Heresy” trudges, a decimating presence threatening safety, the leads firing up and slaughtering the senses. The bass thickens as things get more muscular, added black metal influences bleeding in, a sludgy finish bringing down the hammer. “Bestial Sanctuary” is dizzying as the leads glimmer, the beastly roars caving in chests, crazed leads playing tricks with your sanity. Guitars heat up as the growls chew on nerves, frying flesh to a crisp.
“Impetuous Black Pyre” feels calculated, driving menacingly as the growls punish, and the guitars spiral into oblivion. Fiery punishment explodes as rubbery guitar work confounds, bringing everything to a dizzying, ashen finish. “Nuckelavee” is nearly as hideous as its namesake as crazed riffs take off, and a panic-inducing tempo takes over, making adrenaline surge. Monstrous bruising is administered, the howls crushing as the playing tramples everything in its path, leaving a total wreck behind. “Deathscourged Blade of Consecration” is ferocious, the vocals feeling like a firestorm, the playing tangling brain wiring as the guitars chug away. Total destruction spreads like a merciless storm, the pace slowing and suffocating, churning into instrumental cut “Incantations of the Tarnished” that bathes in noise. Guitars liquify as the bass plods, melting into the earth to set the stage for closing track “Fate Relinquished.” The playing attacks immediately, hellish playing feeling like an inferno, bludgeoning and turning guts inside out. The guitars chill for a stretch, but then the heat rises, and the force methodically builds to a crescendo, blazing and making balance impossible, bleeding into time.
“Offering of Chaos, Lamenting in the Blood of Man” is a hammering display of black metal-inspired death, a real step up for Swampbeast, who already had a solid resume before this. Every inch of this feels harrowing and bloody, a record that feels like it warns of the darkness ahead, something so many of us can feel in our guts. This record will damage your psyche but perhaps prepare you to handle some of the darkest years of our lives if they come to pass.
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/swampbeastca
To buy the album, go here: https://translationloss.com/collections/swampbeast-1/products/offering-of-chaos-lamenting-in-the-blood-of-man-lp
For more on the label, go here: https://translationloss.com/
Meat Mead Metal 