Comprised of members from underground bands, Fetid, MORTIFERUM, Cerebral Rot, and Magrudergrind, Caustic Wound dropped their Death Posture debut earlier in the year, with punishing impact. Cultivating an authentically, pretension-free formula of old school grime and mud caked deathgrind, Caustic Wound keep it real and serve up a compelling album of barbaric, unvarnished brutality. Performed by scene veterans with an obvious deep appreciation for vintage, underground deathgrind, Death Posture aims for the jugular and does not let up throughout its savagely intense and addictive duration.

While relentlessly raw and brutal in its execution and bloodied assault, Death Posture is an irresistibly catchy ride that demands repeat listens. The riffs, courtesy of duo Max Bowman and Chase Slaker, are spewed out vigorously, in all their tar black, murderous fury, the pace relentless but pleasingly interspersed with sludgy, groove-laden slower parts, exemplified on the double pronged attack of such savage cuts as “Visions of Torture” and “Ritual Trappings.” The songs regularly flip from all out chaos and unhinged intensity, to riff-addled d-beat violence, and headbanging groove sections (check out the monstrous first half of “Acid Attack” for evidence). Caustic Wound navigate the careful tightrope balancing act between extremity and genuinely infectious writing to excel throughout Death Posture.

On the surface the formula may sound familiar, this is certainly not unchartered territory Caustic Wound are exploring, but it takes skilled hands to bring a freshness and vitality to their old school deathgrind assault. The merging of death and grind influences is flawless, with genuinely heavy, guttural death combining with old school grind, the grind elements occasionally recalling classic Terrorizer and early Lock-Up. While musically it is not the most technical material, these gents are each well versed on their respective instrument, resulting in a tightly performed, insanely fast, speedball of putrid deathgrind, featuring oodles of band chemistry. Casey Moore (drums) and Tony Wolfe (bass) lay down a mighty foundation, built on cracking speed and sludgy, sewage coated grooves. Meanwhile, Clyde Lindstrom’s cavernous, indecipherable growls, and subtle pitch variations, lend the album a fittingly brutal edge to match the grinding onslaught.

At a lean and mean 26 minutes, Death Posture is near the perfect length for this kind of relentless barrage. However, it is also testament to Caustic Wound’s songwriting skills, that the material avoids dissolving into a monotonous mess of rancid blasting and indistinguishable songs. The production eschews any semblance of modern glossiness in favour of a suitably gritty, rough around the edges sonic profile. Individual instrument tones are sharp, organic, and beefy, slotting into a well balanced mix, caked in layers of muddy distortion to compliment the feral nature of the music. And while the sound is old school and underground, it features enough definition, and a dynamic master, to easily make sense of it all.

Say what you will about 2020, in what has been a wretched year for many, heavy music has shone and delivered across the board. This rings especially true for death metal, with a staggering bounty of quality releases dropping throughout the year. Not to be overlooked, listeners keen on old school deathgrind, loaded with filthy riffs and butchering hooks, are well advised to check out the seedy charms and riff-stacked mayhem of Caustic Wound.

[Visit the band's website]

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