This band is pretty unstoppable at the moment in terms of output as Martyr Immortal follows not that long after the formidable ‘Vicious Skin,’ and split with Frightener. Even more impressive is that ups the intensity and class of their prior material but shows them expanding their darkened palette further to create an even more intense collection of songs. Taking a broad canvas of influences (from holy terror hardcore to sludge and doom) they whip up a 25 minute blitzkrieg that gnaws, gnashes and snaps through the speakers. In no time they have stormed through the opening 4 tracks with a racket that echoes duly classic Entombed as much as it does classic Integrity.

‘Sick and tired,’ sees them grind it down a few notches and really focusing on the riffs they are devoutly peeling from their guitars. Once over, they swiftly revert back to speed for the next pair of tracks before hitting the awesome title track. Introduced by a classy riff, its smoky atmosphere ameliorates rather than asphyxiates as they grind, blast and swing seamlessly through almost 4 minutes of concentrated music. They leave the biggest surprise till last though with ‘Dismissed in time,’ a nightmarish, hellish trudge that is narrated by a grovely voice that echoes Tom Waits but more so the performance Andy Cairns of Therapy? pulled out on their horrible, horrible track from 1999 ‘God Kicks.’

Pulling teeth have made an excellent record here, that is formidably demonstrating their growth as musicians and song writers as there are so many twists, turns and surprises that simply wouldn’t have been possible with the band that wrote ‘Vicious Skin.’ If one nagging request was to be lodged (and this is above all, a personal preference and thus, can’t be called a criticism), I would like to see them flesh out more their faster material and bring more of their Integrity and Cleveland influences to the forefront.

However, that’s me being greedy for that classic hardcore sound that in spite of the number of bands now doing it, never seems to satisfy my appetite, so disregard that request Pulling teeth and keep following your own blackened, twisted path to oblivion.

[Visit the band's website]

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