The world feels like it’s been on fire for the past several years, with the flames getting angrier and more aggressive in the past 12 months as we all just try to survive. It’s the perfect storm for aggressive music, because it’s impossible not to feel on edge at all times, and watching people add fuel to the problems we already have and world leaders fail at their job only amplifies the rage.

Danish death metal destroyers Deiquisitor certainly have been paying attention, especially to those who could be helping us who instead are sickening us, and they roll that into their hammering new EP “Humanoid.” At six tracks and about 28 and a half minutes, it’s a serving that feels rightly proportioned and dealt, with chaos spilling out of every corner. The band—vocalist/guitarist TFJ, bassist DA, drummer HBC—has been crushing souls since 2013, releasing their self-titled debut record in 2016, with two other albums and some smaller releases under their banner. This one, the first for Dark Descent, could be an introduction for a lot of listeners, and inside they’ll find hammering, relentless death metal that never leaves you doubting their fury and desire to bring guilty parties to their knees.

“World in Flames” stomps open with gruff growls and a chugging pace that aims to eat you alive. Things get ugly and punchy as the band turns down an even darker path as the brutality increases, mixing up your brains and sending you to the frontlines of a death march that ends in chaos. “Autonomous Warfare” blasts the brains in your skull, thrashing hard amid gurgly vocals and a slashing pace. The guitars splatter as the growls chew through muscle, surging before a mashing end. “Below the Frozen Tundra” delivers ugly growls and total misery as the leads blaze, and the pace helps lay a beating. The furnace opens, and relentless heat attacks as riffs cut in and create devastation. “Empyrean Lifeform” rips out and goes on the offensive with hard growls ripping through you and the tempo galloping. Vile growls double the intensity as zany leads erupt, and everything burns into a pile of ash. “Dictate the Believers” is savagery right away with the guitars slaying and an all-out assault blasting toward you. There are some sludgy moments as demonic growls set the tone, the tempo speeds with fury, and the track drags you face first to the end. “Blinded by Wisdom” ends the record with the drums decimating, a trudging tempo, and the growls snarling. The temperature continues to rise as gnarly growls smash, the cymbals are crushed, and high-pressure bursts dissolve into noise.

“Humanoid” is a deadly next step for Deiquisitor, who have a far better chance catching on with more people now that Dark Descent is behind them, and anyone who takes the shot is bound to be deliriously satisfied. That is if you like death metal that feels like it has a vendetta against you and has no concern about being clean and neat. This band always has had a bloodthirst, but it sounds a little more serious now, and everyone in their way should take cover immediately.  

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/Deiquisitor

To buy the album, go here: https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/humanoid

For more on the label, go here: http://www.darkdescentrecords.com/