UK power trio Dyscarnate got on my radar with the 2014 reissue of their 2012 sophomore album, And So it Came to Pass, an impressive display of groove and heft that many compared to Dying Fetus- and rightfully so as the band has a bit of hardcore buried in their death metal salvos. And they have finally followed And So it Came to Pass up with a third album, on Unique Leader Records, and it’s one of the most crushing, powerful albums of the year.

With the core duo of Tom Whitty (guitars/vocals) and Matt Unsworth (drums) joined by new bassist /vocalist Al Llewellyn, nothing much has changed as Dyscarnate still put the fucking power in power trio. Jacob Hansen once again helps the trio deliver a perfect sound that’s a commanding, authoritative tone full of heft and devastating menace, that recalls Dying Fetus‘s best grooves from Destroy the Opposition mixed with Hatebreed and some other chunky, Danish, Hansen produced acts like Illdisposed, The Cleansing, Dawn of Demise, etc,

The 8 songs (just under 40 minutes) all deliver a mostly mid paced or trundling pace with only a few moments of blasting here and there (“This is Fire”, “All the Devils are Here”). But the mid paced, runaway train, deliberate pace will test your neck snapping skills to the limit as the throbbing bass and the  downright heavy grooves are as rousing and inspiring as the propaganda inspired cover art.

Opener “Of Mice and Mountains” is a perfect, throttling opener to get your attention with a stern march before “This is Fire!” gets a little more urgent to start, but settles into a downright punishing groove. First single “Iron Strengthens Iron”, is one of the album’s standouts with a lumbering gait that will make you want to punch your grandma in the face if she were to walk in while you were listening to it (sorry grandma, get some ice on that). And as with the above video, it’s nothing ground breaking or technical or self indulgent, just pure, simple and fucking powerful.

“Traitors in the Palace” gives you (and grandma) a little respite with a slower build and even some keyboards to start, but it turns into a menacing slow burner before the closing bellows of “Make ……Way for the KING!!!!!!”, end on a pummeling note. “To End All Flesh Before Me”, has a bit of  Gojira ish stutter  and might be the albums weakest, but still enjoyable track. The perfectly titled “Backbreaker” returns to the regular, double bass assault and lope. “All the Devils are Here”, despite a couple of blasts beats, is a song that detractors will single out as simply being a Hatebreed or hardcore song, but the album closes with something a little different the 7+ minute, almost doom number “Nothing Seems Right”, and when it started I thought it might be a cover of the iconic 28 Days Later theme, to give you some idea of how it sounds and its mood. Even with a big, slow groove, it ends the album on a bit of a let down, but is an appropriate closer  and does give you a cool down period from the prior half hour beat down.

Some may decry Dyscarnate being on Unique Leader  and are nothing more than a beefed up, ‘roided out hardcore band like Hatebreed or Built Upon Frustration and there is some merit to that as the  vocals are certainly beefed up, slightly more hardcore bellows than traditional death metal growls and there is very little blasting. But it all works perfectly for that blood pumping result that is pure, unadulterated power regardless of how you label it.

Welcome to the perfect workout album for 2017.

[Visit the band's website]

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