(written by Islander)
Once again we gaze upon the mindless marauding of the mighty Becer, the foul and ferocious avatar of the troglodytic Sicilian death metal band Becerus.
The last hideous vision of that rampaging creature graced the cover of the debut Becerus album Homo Homini Brutus in 2021, and if anything, Karl Dahmer‘s artwork for the band’s new album is even more berserk than what he did that first time (as you can see).
Homo Homini Brutus, which we helped introduce through not one, not two, but three premieres, was indeed brutish and bludgeoning — caveman death metal with primordial appeal — but the songs were also full of twisting and turning surprises, demonstrating that Becerus were fully capable of violently erupting like Vesuvius with turn-on-a-dime suddenness and surgical precision.
And so I’ve been greedily and greasily rubbing my hands together in anticipation of this band’s new album-length depravity. Aptly named Troglodyte, it will be released by Everlasting Spew Records on December 20th, just in time to ruin Christmas, and once again we’re helping introduce it with a premiere today — of the new album’s title song.
Once again, the Becerus duo of Mario Musumeci (vocals) and Giorgio Trombino (guitars, bass) are together, again joined by mysterious cave-dwelling drummer Paul Bicipitus. Once again, their announced aim is to play “the most vile and decerebrate form of music ever made,” worshiping not only Becer but also the most brutal and foul metal of death from the ’90s.
And once again, they have electrifying surprises up their sleeves (if they had sleeves instead of hairy bulging forearms).
As you might expect, there are lots of ugly sounds in “Troglodyte” (Becer would have it no other way), from cavernous belching grunts and maddened screeches, which rise and fall like a strange pulse and form no words known to modern man, to the filth-encrusted chords that blare and stab.
But almost immediately Becerus also pierce the eardrums with shrill guitar contortions that quiver and shriek, and vent rapid-fire drum upheavals. They also introduce frantically skittering fretwork that sounds more insectile than troglodytic, and grunts that bark just as fast, as well as bizarre guitar convulsions, a solo that’s pure string-melting delirium, and utterly deranged screaming.
Of course, near the end the song will also jolt you silly, primitive in its hammering brutishness but also viciously vivid, capped with one last outburst of those weirdly (and hilariously) rising and falling vocal-bursts.
It’s all way over the top, gleefully macabre in its madness, and more head-spinning to hear than you might expect from any latter-day troglodytes.
Troglodyte was produced by Becerus, with all guitars, bass, drums, and synths recorded by Giorgio at Big Rock Studio, and with vocal tracking and guitar and bass reamping completed at Tone Deaf Studio by Silvio “Spadino” Punzo. The album was mixed by Giorgio at Big Rock Studio, and was mastered by Carlo Altobelli at Toxic Basement Studio.
As noted above, the cover artwork was created by Dahmer Art, and the logo was made by Sandro Di Girolamo. Photos and design by Sara Bianchin/Devilsindetails.
Everlasting Spew will release Troglodyte on CD, cassette tape, and digital editions on December 20th, and a vinyl edition is expected in the spring of next year. They recommend the album for fans of: early Cannibal Corpse, Monstrosity, Broken Hope, Fulci.
PRE-ORDER:
https://www.everlastingspew.com
https://everlastingspew.bandcamp.com/album/troglodyte
BECERUS:
https://www.facebook.com/becerus
https://becerus.bandcamp.com/