Garroted have resurfaced with with a new release full of older material. The Mystic Valley Tapes boasts of analog recording, meant to capture the savagery of Garrotted as a live unit. This four-song EP sounds like it could have come from the early nineties, during the height of death metal mania.
Above all, The Mystic Valley Tapes reminded me of Covenant-era Morbid Angel, with more unorthodox song structures. Intricate guitar work is executed here with tight, palm-muted power chords. The drumming rumbles with a Pete Sandoval-sense of precision and swagger. The same attitude that makes "The Commando" such a larger than life figure to emulate. The blast beats punctuate the soundscape with the rapidity of a Roman phalanx as they march into battle. Blazing solos trade off with an unsettling combination of screeching wails and tapping, much like Trey and company.
"The Crawling Chaos" begins with an eerie, Spanish-style acoustic guitar melody. Distorted riffs and crazed vocals soon follow, as the song detours to a groovy, Suffocation-inspired breakdown.
My favorite track of the record is "Black Spectre." It's a thrasher of a song, with double bass drums driving the momentum at a brisk headbanging pace, as the guitars crank out chunky power chords.
The closing track, "Otherwordly Subversions" is the only lagging moment on this otherwise succinct EP. At 13-plus minutes long, it overstays its welcome around the eight minute, as it crawls through a sludgy breakdown. That's really my only criticism of this entire record.
I mentioned Morbid Angel earlier, but Garroted carve out their own nook in death metal. This EP has equal parts Demilich and Demigod, meaning, off-kilter progressive sequences. In this sense, Garroted avoid going totally "arena death metal" in their songwriting.
Each instrument is present in the mix and shines through. The dueling guitar riffs and solos are top notch. The bass lines cut through with a metallic menace. In terms of drumming, any guy who could pass for Pete Sandoval behind the kit gets a high mark in my grimoire.
Emotion tends to be lacking in a lot of death metal. Garroted prove they have the brains to write sick music, the ability to play it well, and the heart to have it connect with listeners. Even if that heart is bloody and still-beating as it's ripped from one's chest.
I highly recommend Garroted to fans of death metal new and old. I have a suspicion we will hear new servings of brutality from these New England maniacs, sooner than later.
Listen to Garroted here.
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