(NCS contributor Austin Weber delivers this review of the new second album by a multinational collective who call themselves Serocs.)

With the advent of the internet, a number of quality metal bands have emerged where members individually contribute and collaborate with the help of the internet to form groups that would otherwise not be possible. Among this new breed of bands comes the frenetic grinding insanity of Serocs.

Technically speaking Serocs is based in Guadalajara, Mexico, which founder and guitarist Antonio Freyre calls home, and originally he played and wrote everything; their first two releases are solely him. Over time Serocs evolved into a full band with members scattered across different nations. Besides Antonio Freyre on guitar, the group currently also consists of Mike Poggione (Monstrosity/Capharnum/etc) on an often audible in the mix six-string bass, and Jason Hohenstein (Lecherous Nocturne) churning out sickening bellows and growls. Rounding out the lineup is Finnish drummer Timo Häkkinen (Kataplexia), who covers the songs in an endless stream of blast-beats and furied fills.

Serocs are quite fond of guest spots too and spice up The Next with six guest contributions. They don’t fit into one subset of death metal neatly, but to break it down, they basically mix old school death metal influence with technical death metal, supplemented by a brutal death metal side, all deconstructed through a deathgrind approach. Continue reading »