There’s been a slight shift in my tastes for Metal since I turned fifty. I look for different things now and I’ve discovered that certain genres aren’t for me. I tried to like Lorna Shore, it didn’t happen, but I tried, and it made me want to punch babies. So, if I’m going to listen to that style of Death Metal it’ll be Internal Bleeding, or Circle of Dead Children, and now Torture Rack! I have to say that after listening to Torture Rack I felt at home. No place like it! The warmth of Morbid Angel-esque, meat, and potatoes Death Metal.
Anyway, I am going to try and not to compare them too much to Morbid Angel, but goddammit guys, the elements are there. From the first track “Ceremonial Flesh Feast” I got the same feeling as the first time I heard “Chapel of Ghouls” and “Maze of Torment”. Now before anyone thinks I’m about to bash the shit out of Primeval Onslaught, I’m not, there’s similarities and that’s all… Oh hey! They’ve got other releases that you, constant reader, should check out (I’m going to). Bludgeoning the Portland scene since 2013 with the Medieval Mutilation Demo and then unleashing Barbaric Persecution and Malefic Humiliation in 2015 and 2018, respectively. Meaning that there’s more to love!
Primeval Onslaught features thundering tracks like “Decrepit Funeral Home” that burn and churn with unrelenting malice, raging like a horny Tasmanian Devil. Meanwhile tracks like “Forced from the Pit” is not only the longest track but is an album favorite, smack dead centered… well, “Morning Star Massacre” is only 50 seconds long and is track four. So not exactly center, more to the side. I digress because the rest of the record is chock full of nineties-era Death Metal spirit and that is okay with me. These ten tracks rage with vitriol and while not re-imagining the Death Metal wheel, they’re fucking fun to listen to.
While I’m at it, I should add that if you love Morbid Angel, you will cum oceans with glee after listening to Torture Rack. There were plenty of moments where I was like, “fuck I need a towel!” and it’s not just Morbid Angel I hear, there’s Cannibal Corpse and even Broken Hope greased into their pounding aural assault. I recommend this, and of course, being the guy with a keyboard; I’m influencing you to check out Primeval Onslaught.
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