If you enjoyed Temple of Void‘s Lords of Death last year, Washington D.C’s Genocide Pact will make you happy with their second album, their Relapse Records debut, Order of Torment as it present the same sort of simple, groove based mid tempo doom/death metal, just with a little less experimentation.

As with Temple of Void,  I can hear some Vore, some Bolt Thrower, some Grave and to these ears, some Cianide and Jungle Rot. This isn’t going to win any awards for originality or songwriting, but with a big muscular, clear production and 8 songs of no frills, pummeling, mid paced riffage, they clearly are not trying to win any awards.

The 39 minutes has perfect run time for this style and the 8 tracks trundle by with satisfying simplicity and heft. From opener “Conquered and Disposed” through chunky lope of “Spawn of Suffering”, to closer and personal favorite, “Blood Rejection” there is no deviation from the steady, head bobbing rumble. No interludes, no atmospherics, no samples, no intros; just 4- minute songs full of meaty, bludgeoning riffs.

The pace occasionally picks up a double bass trundle like the start of “Ascendancy Absolved” and “Authoritarian Impulse” or a rare blast beat here and there (“Pain Reprisal”, “Structural Dissolution”), but it’s definitely not common place and pretty shortlived. In all, a wonderfully simple, effective and destructive no nonsense doom/death album that should snap many a neck in 2018.

[Visit the band's website]

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