EP REVIEW: Fisting The Sockets – Severe Torture
For fans of death metal, and particularly the genre’s harsher and more brutal side, SEVERE TORTURE should be a band that need little in the way of introduction. Formed in 1997, the Dutch quintet very quickly gathered a significant amount of momentum, managing to stand out as one of the better bands in a country already acclaimed for its numerous world class death metal acts, and swiftly gaining notoriety internationally off the back of extensive touring and five excellent full-length records. The last of these albums, Slaughtered, proved to be the last time the band would record for a very long time, with many beginning to wonder whether this fantastic album was going to serve as their swansong. Luckily, the band are back with new music after over 12 years away; Fisting The Sockets may only be a three song EP, clocking in at just shy of 14 minutes, but it’s a record that shows that SEVERE TORTURE are still as good, and indeed still as punishing musically, as they have ever been.
Opening the record with the title track, Fisting The Sockets starts off with a polished and ethereal guitar motif which quickly dives into more fast and ferocious fare. The guitars shift towards dense, melody-tinged hooks coupled with tight, intricate drumming and monstrous gutturals to make for an incredibly focused and aggressive slab of death metal which strikes a balance between the band’s slicker and more sinister sides.
Entangled In Hate takes a more chaotic approach which, after the more dramatic foundations laid down on the first track, brings long time listeners of the band back into familiar territory, with the sound embracing the more brutal, bestial and unhinged style that SEVERE TORTURE are famous for. The prominent sludgy bass, chunkier rhythms and imaginative leads all combine to give this an unflinchingly visceral and vitriolic feel, with lots of great, catchy flourishes peppered throughout for good measure, all with the bellicose growl of the vocals adding even more depth to the already muscular sound. Hands And Head Not Found is, if anything, even more cacophonous and bestial than the preceding track, with the drums and guitars especially taking on an absolutely rabid pace, retaining the technical songwriting of the last offering and managing to take that formula, and ultimately this EP, to its most extreme and musically impressive.
It’s safe to say that the 12-year long absence from the studio hasn’t resulted in SEVERE TORTURE losing a step. If anything, they’ve not only managed to meet the high benchmark of their previous output, but also add a few new, interesting elements into the mix as well. Each of these three songs is every bit as spectacular, both in terms of musicianship and songwriting, as much of their more celebrated records, proving succinctly and emphatically that they are still one of the best death metal acts around. The opening track, with its cleaner opening moments and its sombre, doom-laden closing ones, provides perhaps the most diverse stylistic range on the record, and the final two are masterclasses in how to do brutal death metal right, and are definitely indicative of the classic style that the band are famed for. It’s clear that SEVERE TORTURE aren’t running out of ideas anytime soon, and hopefully this EP is just a taster to whet the listener’s appetite for what’s to come.
Rating: 9/10
Fisting The Sockets is out now via Season Of Mist.
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