By:
Ernesto Aguilar
Album Type: Full length
Date Released: 07/04/2017
Label: 20 Buck Spin
In
this first release by the group, you have what sounds like an incredibly
promising start. The playing is top-shelf vicious. Carpet bombed in a death
metal growl, the songs are forceful in delivery and unyielding in lyrics.
"Extremely Fucking Dead" CD//CS//DD//LP track listing:
1.
Intro (Mortuus est Valde)
2.
Crepuscular Crescend
3.
Bestial Destiny
4.
Chalice of Pus
5.
Fatal Immortality
6.
Extremely Fucking Dead
The Review:
Yelp
is truly eBay for reviews. You can discover the most random stuff assessed by a
less-than-forgiving public. There, you can even find a list of the best San
Francisco bars that play death metal. Yes, it is a real list and is a testament
to how much the Bay Area, for all its contradictions, tourists and big red
hop-on-and-off buses, loves extreme music.
Beyond
that, Northern California has been an epicenter of sorts for metal for going on
30 years or more. With the debut of the Oakland-based Extremity,
you have a group that is reflective of such history. This is not the first band
for its members by any stretch.
From
Agalloch to Vastum, Cretin to Necrosic, among others,
the experience that makes up Extremity is sure to
prompt attention. Impressive acts, no doubt. In this first release by the
group, you have what sounds like an incredibly promising start. The playing is
top-shelf vicious. Carpet bombed in a death metal growl, the songs are forceful
in delivery and unyielding in lyrics. Herein tracks like "Bestial Destiny" are impressive, with traces of grind
undercutting a faithful death blueprint. Throughout the debut, there is ample
space for all-star drummer Aesop Dekker,
who counts Ludicra and Worm Ouroboros
among his work, to ballast the carnage.
What
makes Extremity such a fascinating addition to
death metal, beyond its collective resumes and membership, is its potential. For
instance, its similarity to Scolex, bassist Erika Osterhout’s other death/doom
project, is glancing at best. As such, Extremity melds some of
the exceptional qualities of what its members bring. Osterhout’s contributions on songs like "Chalice of Pus" are as you might expect, searing. In
fact, the whole team has it’s A-game on for all six tracks.
If you love the style, Extremity does it in a fashion you’re sure to enjoy. Haters
might call it a touch of playing it safe. A longer listen reveals how complex
the songs really are. "Extremely
Fucking Dead" isn’t the 99-cent-bin death metal, because its
collaborators are far from it. Together, the group hints that their best is yet
to come.
"Extremely
Fucking Dead" is available here
Band
info: facebook
