Castrated - Surgical Vicissitude

Castrated consists of Anthony Voight on vocals, Jonathan Bayliss on guitars, Carlos Gallegos on bass, and Matt Behner on drums. That’s it, just 4 members. A super simplistic approach to something so aurally devastating. Well, sometimes that’s all it takes. The single guitarist approach really works here. The tone is so sharp and eviscerating on this album. This is missed out on a lot of times when there is only one guitarist. At least that has been my experience. Anyhow, Mr. Bayliss hits the nail on the head with the riffage. If you can picture a mix of Malevolent Creation and labelmates Focal Dystonia, you pretty much have an idea of the devastation happening here. On top of that, you have the monstrous low-end rumbles of Carlos Gallegos backing up the guitars. It’s not really overshadowing, but it really packs a punch coming out of the speakers. The likes of Steve Digorgio and Alex Webster have nothing on this guy! The combination of give and take with these 2 elements give a great deal of density to this release. The drum work of Matt Behner only sinks the blade of madness in further. There's not a lot of variation or technical ability displayed, but you’ll know without a doubt that it is there. What you have here is a lot of brutal kit bashing to the point it drives the listener to headbanging madness! Again, it’s that simplistic approach that dominates the brutality factor here. The musical formula is one that works and works well.

Now, we top things off with the vocals of Anthony Voight. This guy has a serious set of lungs on him! A mid-level gravelly growl is the recipe here, ensuring the insanity continues unabated for the duration. Anthony is a strong vocalist and is sure to be blessing the microphone with his vocal vomit for years to come. At the end of the day, take the bands I mentioned earlier and add to them the likes of Mortician, Cryptopsy, Disincarnate, Devourment, Grave, and Gutwrench. If you like any of these bands, then I highly recommend that you give Castrated a try. All the elements of this band ensure that you are getting the highest quality brutal death metal with a deep passion for the genre’s past, present, and future. Contact the band or Comatose Music for more information on adding this release to your collection. This one is sure to become a classic in the underground!

4 / 5 STARS