One week ago we premiered the title track from Obliteration of the Self, the debut EP by an insurgent death metal duo who call themselves Inert, and today we deliver a full stream of the entire EP, which the band are making available as a free download for a limited time.
For those who missed our earlier premiere, I’ll repeat the band’s origin story: Both members (guitarist Xavier Aguilar and vocalist/drummer Gustavo Garcia) knew each other for many years from the metal scene in Barcelona, Spain, but didn’t join forces in Inert until Xavi moved to Stockholm, Sweden. Perhaps something in the Swedish water infiltrated Xavi’s creative juices, but whatever caused this duo to join forces only after considerable distance separated them, we should be thankful for it.
photo by Guillem Tramullas Masachs
The HM-2 force is strong with these lads — very strong. The tone of the smoking chainsaw riffs in these three songs is immense, and well-matched by the bunker-busting impact of the drumwork. “Fake Servant of God” starts the EP in an immediately overpowering rampage, and it’s an electrifying ride from those opening seconds straight through to the end.
Inert’s devotion to the bloodline of bands like Dismember, Grave, and early Entombed is readily apparent, but they supercharge these three songs with so much passion, conviction, and energy that they stand as a vivid reminder of what makes the style so deathless. In addition to the massive grinding of the riffs, the songs feature drilling tremolo leads that are deep and destructive and drum rhythms that move from d-beat romps to bolting gallops, from lumbering staggers to rumbling avalanches. And the vocals are yet another highlight — the kind of gritty, inflamed, gruesome howls and venomous yells that never fall into monotony but lend added power to the ferocious force of the music.
Two other features of the EP make it stand out from the pack: All three songs are highly infectious, with riffs and dismal melodies that get stuck in the head quite easily — and all of them include excellent guitar solos that may catch you off guard, because they invoke other metal traditions besides good old Swedish death. The one in the title track is soulful and bluesy; there’s one in “Son of Certain Death” that brings to mind arena-ready classic heavy metal shred; and both the opening and closing tracks include shrieking, spitfire swooping and diving.
I suppose it’s now obvious how enthusiastic I am about this EP. Especially as a debut by a new band, it’s very impressive and has quickly become one of my favorite death metal releases of the year — an homage to old school traditions that doesn’t sound tired in the least.
Obliteration of the Self will be released on June 17 via Bandcamp. Beginning today, you can pre-order it as a digital download or on CD (a limited edition of only 50 copies) at this location:
And for this week only (June 10 – 17), Inert are offering a free download of the EP as a token of appreciation to people who enjoy and support their music. If you like what you hear, drop them a message asking for the download code at this address:
You can follow Inert on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/inertband