Hyperdontia - Excreted From the Flesh EP

Fighting tooth and nail to the top. 

(Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on December 28th 2020)

After having made a splash in the underground with 2018’s Nexus of Teeth, Hyperdontia has been slowly feeding its fans content for the past 2 years. In 2020 they’ve given us quite a bit of material to bite down on, including this review’s focal point, the Excreted From the Flesh EP. It’s a short but sweet offering that is guaranteed to do a great job satisfying any long time fans of the band.
The EP opens with “Warping Sacristy”. While it largely follows the typical characteristics of the style, with frenzied tremolo picking and sepulchral vocals, Hyperdontia manages to set itself apart from other bands due to their excellent use of dynamics. Sections such as the ones at 1:05 and 3:06, where the lumbering doom like riffs support the band's crawling solos act as an excellent contrast to the fast paced parts, and are simply a masterclass in cavernous death metal.
The closer of the EP is the title track, which while similar to the song that preceded it, does enough to differentiate itself thanks to a couple of standout sections within it. The band frantically tears its way through the first quarter of the song before suddenly crashing into a small but oh so sweet bass break at 1:06, before starting to build up momentum again. Following that the band continues expertly changing the tempo of the song and keeping it fresh, while also sprinkling in some more fantastic leads, such as the one at 3:28.
The production is the only thing I have an extremely minor gripe with on this release, and the reason it’s a 97% and not a 100%. While everything sounds great, with the guitars having a trebly yet heavy sound and the drums sounding punchy and soaked in reverb, the bass has been slightly neglected. Its presence can for the most part be felt rather than heard, and considering how good it sounded when it was actually audible on the title track, I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed by it. I find it to be a real shame because it really deserves to be louder in releases of this style, as it can further supplement the cavernous feel of the music.
Excreted From the Flesh is proof that Hyperdontia are still one of, if not the best out of the many bands that are emulating the cavernous sound that has seen a resurgence over the past decade. While not breaking any new ground, it’s a flawless example of the style, making it my favourite EP of the year, and a must listen for any self respecting death metal fan.
Highlight: Excreted From the Flesh

Rating: 97%

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Batushka & Houle concert report, 28/09/2025

Image
Salted Wounds and Incense; or, a Black Metal escapade Besides getting to know a place like the back of your hand, I’m a firm believer that you’ve truly made yourself at home somewhere when you start participating in the area’s local artistic events, which, for a guy like me, tend to begin and end with attending concerts of artists passing through the area. It’s a great way of meeting people with similar interests as you, and as we all know, shared experiences foster connection between people, through reminiscing and simply “being in the moment”. It’s always been the little things that stuck with me at shows, and a city as small as Thessaloniki is proud to boast of a very tight-knit metal community, where everyone’s a regular at the same few places, and tends to show up in the same shows as you do. You get to see some people you’ve talked to in passing, and perhaps even share an awkward “Were you in [X] show? Wasn’t it cool?” moment. There’s a charm to such interactions that is hard t...
Read more

Sacred Serenity - Redefining Life

Image
Hit 'em with the brain destroyer. I haven’t gone digging in a while, but I generally take great pleasure in stumbling upon up-and-coming bands, preferably ones that could be defined as “hungry”. Musicians pour their hearts into their art, and then thrust it upon an unsuspecting public in hopes of being seen and appreciated by however small a group. It takes a lot of courage and drive to do that, and it’s such a quality that defines Sacred Serenity, and their debut, Redefining Life . This one-man progressive deathrash (!) project is helmed by the young (even younger at the time of this album’s release) Jonas Doehler, who somehow managed to put together something that one would expect from veterans of the style, all while juggling five more active bands at the time of writing. Talk about having a busy schedule. Clocking in at less than 25 minutes (without the instrumental version of the album), this is a release that operates on “shock and awe” tactics. Though there are moments of re...
Read more

Elder - Lore

Image
Albums I like a lot: Part II (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on August 21st 2021)  Stoner doom’s always been a hit or miss genre for me. On one hand, it has a vibe and energy that can scarcely be matched by other styles, on the other you can only hear so many bands rip off Sabbath riffs before you get bored. As a whole it’s a very single minded style that rarely goes beyond being heavy and “weed lmao”. And I say rarely because Elder exists. While their earliest work falls in that category (more specifically their self-titled), they’ve always had a unique flavour to them. Ever since Dead Roots Stirring they’ve added these subtle psychedelic and at times progressive touches that helped them stand out from the rest of the bands in the genre. Their third outing, Lore stands out for being the perfect marriage of psych and stoner doom, and has cemented itself as my favourite album in the genre, and by extension the band’s catalogue. From the very first few...
Read more