Review by Carl on October 15, 2024.

Whoa, this one packs a punch alright. We get the almighty Angelcorpse teaming up with the older-than-old-school black/death metallers Martire to deliver a slice of blackened hostility right across the face. I'm very sorry, but I'm just going to be dooling all over this one from here on.

The first kick in the arse comes from Angelcorpse, delivering a massive re-recording of a track off of their debut full length, as well as a blazing take on Sarcofago's "Desecration of Virgin". The original track showcases everything that Angelcorpse is known for: ripping guitar leads, sick intricate riffing coming at you at inhuman velocity as if this is Morbid Angel's final form, a musical execution performed like clockwork, and of course Pete Helmkamp's raw belching croak to wrap it all up together. The song plows ahead at reckless speed without losing grip on the precision playing showcased, and the final bow around this pulsing package comes in the form of a balanced out, powerful, and yet still gritty production, simply heaving with malice and menace. The Sarcofago cover is presented in pretty much the same way, with Angelcorpse amping up the speed and intensity of the original up to 11, doing this with ease. Are these two blasts of vitriolic aggression the perfect embodiment of death metal perfection? Could very well be, I say.

The second kick up the arse comes in the form of Australia's Martire, and they do their home country's reputation for extreme metal proud. They are a band equally as intense as Angelcorpse, but with their focus more on the bludgeoning force, and less on precision, landing them in the good company of bands like Bestial Warlust, Conqueror, and Blasphemy. They deliver two strikes of barbaric black/death, spurred on by blasting velocity and battering percussion, with a thick layer of hyperactive frenzied chainsaw guitar riffing, almost bordering on white noise at times. On top of this intense assault of high-speed sonic terrorism comes a dual raw bellowed vocal attack roaring over the mayhem at play, only leaving some space for the unhinged guitar leads in the vein of Deicide and Massacre. The production follows suit with a grainy, distorted soundmix that sounds utterly deranged, something that only increases the psychotic intensity at play. The raging guitars and tortured vocals take center stage, sounding demented as fuck, but with a downside that it pushes the drums into the background. The poor drummer is struggling to get through at times, but while this isn't optimal, it does sound absolutely nuts in combination with the rest of the music. Total Aussie madness, and I love it!!

This is one of those combinations that only happens once in a blue moon. The ferocious precision bombing of Angelcorpse versus the sonic barbarism of Martire, this is the stuff that I honestly live for. Everyone even remotely serious about black/death metal should take notice of this EP, as well as both bands' other output because this stuff is simply just that good.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10