25 years is a long time. Hell, over 25 years is a long time, and I’ve realized that a lot of the bands I love are coming up on that side of their longevity, which isn’t much next to the Rolling fucking Stones and we all know they’ve been doing it since the Triassic period so… there’s that.

History lessons aside, Severe Torture has been caving in skulls for the whole time, since the Baptized… demo in 1998. The first time I heard them was 2000s Feasting on Blood, fucking hell so long ago; anyway that was followed by 2002’s Misanthropic Carnage, and without getting too lost in the weeds here, they have ruled since their inception in the Dutch underground.

2024 finds the band on nuclear fire with Torn From the Jaws of Death, ten tracks of fist fucking Death Metal, fast and reliably relentless. The addition of Damiën Kerpentier on drums back in 2018, replacing original drummer Seth; injected the band with a newfound energy resulting in the 2022s EP Fisting the Sockets-their first release in 12 years since 2010s Slaughtered.

So, how does Torn From the Jaws of Death fit in with their catalog? Well, having been recorded at Tortured Compound Studios it begins with a sufficient bang with “The Death of Everything” a 4:00 minute face-melting, Morbid Angel like in delivery; a blowtorch held to the flesh, the blasting drums and the slicing riffs and that’s a solid first track in the fire.

“Marked by Blood and Darkness” has some killer Black Metal riffing going on against the decidedly Death Metal drums a juxtaposition that works devilishly well. This also turns up in the title track as well. It’s previous song “Hogtied in Rope” however, that is easily one of my favorite tracks “… you’re hogtied in rope!” roars the chorus.

“Christ Immersion” has a raging Angelcorpse-style blasting intro that will set your fire alarm off, those drums are like a whirlwind especially the 2:36 mark where there are some nice Nile-ish leads. The song sort of crawls its way on its knuckles to the end. “Putrid Remains” chugs along with suitable battering ram accuracy, this homicidal rush, like mixing heroin with blood and then shooting that shit.

“The Pinnacle of Suffering” starts with a cool riff wrapping itself around the blasting drums, then comes the 1:53 breakdown and you’re pulverized. “Through Pain and Emptiness” has a bit of a Behemoth feeling to it, sort of reminds me of “Conquer All” but maybe that’s just me. It’s probably just me…

“Those Who Wished Me Dead” is a perfect precursor to “Tear All the Flesh off the Earth” the crushing final track that starts slowly and then boom! The punishment isn’t constant, it slows to a martial pace for the epic solo and then it’s back to savage business before another wall-banging solo that’s even more epic than the first and is what closes the album out.

Then you hit play again because of the riffs you must have missed in that first play-through, right? Severe Torture prove why they’re still a force to be dealt with in 2024. There are little bits of Sinister in there, also some Torture Rack-ish shit going on, oh, and Dark Funeral.

The bottom line is that this is Brutal Old School Death Metal bashing heads and continuing on a path of brutality. Definitely a picker-upper!

[Visit the band's website]

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