A logical progression for a band going from album to album is the sort of thing that we all expect to see every now and then, and tonight was no different as when I sat down to hear what AntropomorphiA has created with their new record for me to have my ears melt to, so I was expecting something similar to their previous record from two years ago. Instead, I got something that felt like a grand improvement of its predecessor that builds on every conceivable element to create in a listen that feels so much complete on every level.

A lot of times, it feels as though acts that are particularly heavy can go into musical territory that’s much more toned down than previous material as to be more accessible in some ways. We see heaviness fade away ever so slowly and the extreme nature of previous works being put on the back burner rather than be one of the main attractions, but it’s with this record that AntropomorphiA has gone in the complete opposite direction. To put it in the simplest terms possible, “Merciless Savagery” lives up to its name. There’s not a single track within the confines of this venomous record that isn’t jammed pack full of ferocious riffs meant to peel away at your bones, a visceral heaviness that never knows when to stop except going from one track to the next, an immense sense of satisfaction that’s all but devilishly entertaining, or an attitude that is never at maximum power to make “Merciless Savagery” an album that’s truly meant for those who live life at a ten at all times. AntropomorphiA doesn’t allow for any opportunity to show their immense power to slip through their fingers as to make the album one that’s not to miss for any lover of death metal, for it’s “Merciless Savagery” that we see the style in one of its most pristine yet raw forms that the year has thrown our way thus far.

It’s easy to leave this album as a super heavy, wall of death metal that leaves no prisoners but the record is so much more three-dimensional than one might expect before going into this record, and damn if AntropomorphiA doesn’t know how to deliver the goods in splendid fashion. “Merciless Savagery” shows us that even after reuniting from a break ten years ago that this band is far from calling it a quits, and if there was any doubt of that then it will be all but annihilated come the very first track of this behemoth record.

“Merciless Savagery” releases on April 5th via Metal Blade Records!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Merciless Savagery” on Bandcamp here.

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