For metal heads, there are few things in life an satisfying as pure, simple death metal. No orchestration, no tech overload no deep meanings or ritualistic interludes. Just pure death metal. And Dave Rotten of Avulsed and owner of Xtreem Music knows a little about it himself, as he and his band has been delivering the style for a few years now.

Enter Russia’s Grond, and their second album, Worship the Kraken. New to me, this 4 piece deliver no frills, chunky, catchy death metal that has strands of Dave’s own Avulsed as well as other bands like Six Feet Under, Benediction, Primitiv, Illdisposed, Asphyx, Humiliation, any Rogga Johanssen and other straight up death metal bands. Even with the nautical/Lovecraftian themes, Grond just do riffs. Big burly, mid paced chuggers that get your neck snapping.

A meaty guitar tone and pounding rhythm section deliver the goods, while drummer Konstantin “Kist” Kovalenko delivers the vocals  with a no nonsense deep, commanding growl. There’s no sweeps, there’s no mystical atmospherics, just rumbling big riffs that pound over and over again like the crashing tide. From opener “Invocation” to “Typhoon is Coming” the 10 tracks trundle with utterly satisfying crunch and heft. Standouts include the third track, “Steel Coffins” and the monstrous groove of “Below the Thunders”, possibly one of my favorite pure death metal tracks of the year so far.

A cover of Goatlord’s “Blood Monk” surfaces in the middle of the album, but I would of had no idea if I had not read the album credits as it fits right in, sandwiched between “White Waters of South” and the kickass march of  the title track effortlessly. And the guys can pick up the tempo a bit here and there as shown on “Kronos the Devourer” or “Devonian Tyrant”.

Xtreem is having a pretty solid run in mid/late 2016 with the likes of Ade, the much improved Ashcloud, always reliable Ribspreader the new Sorcery and this, so I look forward to see what else Dave Rotten brings us in the near future.

[Visit the band's website]

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