Dance Of Ixtab (Psychopomp & Circumstance March No. 1 In B) builds its psychotic advance around some bluesy swagger. Eleanor Rigor Mortis packs a world of thrashy high-tempo between its sledgehammer blows. The Devil Rides Out is a straight up death'n'roll banger with (meat) hooks big enough to hang elephants on. Kelly’s Meat Emporium – originally titled “Stock Carcass” – allows bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker off the leash, layering his caustic, blackly humorous lyrics over an off-kilter, almost Eastern-tinged composition.
In truth, Torn Arteries is a less immediate, more unruly listen than Surgical Steel. Veering between basement-torture intensity and stadium-sized sweep, it lacks the pinpoint coherence of that release, while the more-is-more attitude to composition feels less cuttingly efficient. Hand yourself over entirely, though, and you’ll be embraced in the gory maelstrom. By no-holds-barred closer The Scythes Remorseless Swing, it’s hard not to be overwhelmed with sheer awe just seeing these death metal progenitors getting back to murderous business. Killer stuff.
Rating: 4/5
For fans of: Entombed, Death, Arch Enemy
Torn Arteries is out now via Nuclear Blast