If you search long and hard enough in the metal underground, you’ll come across some real filthy shit that doesn’t abash itself by censoring themes or lyrics. Instead, they thrive in it. Most of these bands tend not to get a whole lot of attention, but for the decade-old act of Ilsa, that’s about to change with their upcoming album. Whereas plenty bands tend to get softer as their careers get longer, some go the other way, and Ilsa is definitely of the latter as this piece is their rawest to date and it’s fucking delicious!

The idea of creating an album that’s nothing to scoff at when it comes to raw brutality is a very noble effort for any metal band out there, and it’s one that’s pursued very constantly. Yet, like everything, it has resulted in many creations that have varying degrees of success. But with Ilsa’s latest creation of “Corpse Fortress,” these guys show they know how to do it, and they fucking nailed it! The nine tracks that make up “Corpse Fortress” are massively heavy slabs of intensity that wouldn’t let up for the very ending of the world, and Ilsa play with such skill that proves the past ten years have been building up to this one, hideous amalgamation that’s horrifying to look at but an absolute treat to listen to. It becomes very clear very quickly for any newcomers to Ilsa with “Corpse Fortress” that these guys are no less than obsessed with gore, and their ability to convey it through sludgy death metal that’s coated in a thick slime of doom that permeates every orifice of this album to make it a unique death-doom experience. Ilsa throws down multiple tracks that are straight up nightmare fuel in the best ways possible, and every subsequent listen only gets tastier.

The modern state of death-doom is in very good shape if you ask me, and it’s with bands like Ilsa that we’re finally seeing the darker corners of the style start to let their voices be heard, and Ilsa continues to do it after a whole decade; something not many bands can boast. “Corpse Fortress” is a trip through several layers of hell that isn’t for the faint of heart, and surviving the horrors is a rewarding experience in it of itself.

“Corpse Fortress” releases on March 2nd via Relapse Records!

PRE-ORDER “Corpse Fortress” via iTunes here.

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Corpse Fortress” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Ilsa on Facebook here.