Today, the very lucky 13th of July, is the release date for Gold and Rust, the new EP by the one-man, New Jersey-based death metal project Engulf. It comes adorned with a wonderful cover created by Misanthropic-Art, which by itself should be an irresistible invitation to explore this music even if you weren’t already aware of Engulf‘s capabilities, as first revealed through last year’s Subsumed Atrocities EP (which also featured an eye-grabbing cover by the same artist). And those capabilities continue to be strikingly impressive.
All credit goes to Hal Microutsicos, who again proves himself to be a guitar wizard, but one who uses his sorcerous talents in the service of genuinely ferocious death metal onslaughts that get pulses racing and skulls fracturing, even as they get eyes popping wide over his technical proficiency.
The three tracks on Gold and Rust include sudden changes of rhythm and tempo, but are generally rushing blasts that strike and move like tornadoes. They assault and enliven the senses with a changing panoply of jolting, swirling, and swarming riffs and a healthy dose of thunderous grooves and vicious, roaring and howling vocal savagery. They provide a showcase for technically extravagant, fleet-fingered fretwork that, while blazing and kaleidoscopic in its rapidly shifting colors and patterns, never veers off the rails into a mess of tangled wreckage.
The music’s fascination is further enhanced by Engulf‘s blending of unsettling dissonance (including shrieking notes that manifest as flares of derangement), and dark, threatening melodies that hint at brooding moodiness or looming ominous grandeur. And so, while these songs are genuinely head-spinning in their instrumental exuberance and spine-tingling in their savagery, you might easily find yourselves remembering those connective tissues of melody after the tornadoes have set you down again on solid ground and vanished into the sky.
Enjoy the full stream of Gold and Rust below, where you’ll also find links to get it digitally, on CD, and in bundles with related merch. Everlasting Spew is also providing the CD for free with every order above €15 (shipping EXCLUDED) in the Everlasting Spew web shop (you just have to put it in the cart).
Pre-order:
https://everlastingspewrecords.bandcamp.com/album/gold-and-rust
https://everlastingspew.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/engulfdm/
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