So here is only the second release from P2, a label co owned and run by one Paulo Paguntalan, guitarist and vocalist for Copremesis (whose debut Muay Thai Lady Boys still has some of the best cover art ever) and vocalist for Andromorphous Rexalia, so it should come as no surprise that the fledgling label’s first forays are into the realms of brutal death metal.

Hailing from Erie, Pennsylvania, Extinction Protocol is indeed brutal death metal, in all its gurgling, slamming glory, but rather than the usual themes of gore, misogyny and perversion, Extinction Protocol smarten up the usual banal themes of brutal death metal with a little more cosmic and dare I say intellectual themes of cosmic destruction, supernovas, nebulae, celestial terraforming, and all things alien or spacial, not unlike the aforementioned Andromorphus Rexalia. Not one mention of ‘whore’ or ‘cunt’. And while admittedly the vocal delivery of brutal growls and subterranean burps make the lyrics a bit redundant, the band’s more intelligent, if still destructive themes carry over to the music, carrying a bit of an Origin meets Devourment vibe.

While the basic tenets of brutal slamming death metal carry the backbone of Aeonic Obilteration with ample blasting, gurgling and huge, satisfying slams, there is little threads of technicality, experimentation and even some strains of black metal amid the satisfying slams and growls, making Aeonic Obilteration a much more cerebral example of brutal death metal than is normally expected.

“The Merging of Titans” opens with an impressive, menacing bellow heralding the next, well timed, 32 minutes of impressive brutality. Each of the nine songs deliver short, sharp mixes of expected slammyness, blast beats and squealing riffs. However, Extinction Protocol never come across as a simplistic brutal slam fest. Tracks like “As Life Turns to Ash”, “Pyroclasmic Reformation”, “Chained to Oblivion” and closer “Unraveling the Human Aether” deviate just a touch with either clever, technical structuring or just a hint of, dare I say, tremolo picked clinical frostiness (“Arrival of the Black Sun”), to match the ambiance of space’s cold, dark vastness. It adds just enough variety to the still enjoyable, pummeling brootality (i.e. “Heir to an Apocalypse”, “Malignant Existence”) to stick with you a little longer and make Aeonic Obilteration one of the better examples of slammy, brutal death metal I have heard recently.

[Visit the band's website]

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