It’s finally time for Slaughtersun to unveil their debut EP.
Created in 2023 in New Jersey, it has been unveiled track by track by Justin Hillman (vocals, Cranial Damage), Ben Karas (violin, Windfaerer), Cody McCorry (bass) and Jason Quinones (drums, Tombstoner), and is entitled Black Marrow.
We start with Unearthly Propaganda, a mysterious introduction that intrigues us, before leaving us with Fall of the Firmament, where we discover the band’s particularity, as saturated violin easily replaces a guitar. The sound is different from what we’re used to, but it’s part of an interesting Progressive Death dynamic, keeping the style’s technicality and the rhythm section intact under the various howls of the vocalist, whether during furious passages or slower ones, before giving way to Relentless Thelemic where the playing diversifies once again. The jerky approach is back, as is the liveliness of the riffs, which don’t hesitate to settle on a devastating blast and waves of violence or, on the contrary, to develop heady harmonics that eventually lead into Ready Cell Awaits. The track begins with the most unbridled ferocity, but ends up offering slower, heavier tones before returning to its usual madness and explosive leads that would make classical music fans break out in a cold sweat, then Black Marrow follows with the same fury coupled with dissonant harmonics. The bass, however, is not to be outdone, adding its own touch to the melodies that take us to the Frightbox Live Session version of Relentless Thelemic, where we realize that the band can play their songs perfectly live, which is almost chilling given the unusual line-up.
It will take you less than one track to get used to the absence of guitar on Slaughtersun, so rich is the violin. Black Marrow contains just four compositions (excluding intro and live track), but they’re clearly enough to convince us of the band’s strength!
85/100