In our current climate of death metal, it can always feel as though there’s a race of sorts constantly going on where bands try and find out who can be the most vicious and captivating at their particular style. Even if that’s not the intention for many, the bar continuously seems to get higher each year with the ante following suit. Especially in the world of crust, nothing is ever left to chance with each band appearing to constantly become more cutthroat than the previous. Having only been around for four years now, Neolithic didn’t need to prove anything to nobody, but it’s clear with their first full-length album that they weren’t taking any chances, holding any bars, or leaving any survivors in the wake of their ferocious power.

In some ways, it could be argued that we’re living in a bit of a golden era for anything related to crust in the world of metal with there more bands than ever daring to approach the sound with their own takes and personalities to deliver assaults of their own for us to lose ourselves in. Of course, quantity does not always equate to quality, but it’s with the creation of several noteworthy bands in the style that I can’t help but feel we’ve lucked out in that case. With Neolithic, I’m confident in saying that this is the most bombastic and interesting name to come from the sound that I’ve heard since Goregäng. But one track for all of “Shattering Vessels” can boast a runtime of over four minutes to make Neolithic’s use of the brief 24-minute overall runtime of the whole album downright critical, and never once do they squander those opportunities. Packed full of far more than just riffs with hypnotic aggression paired gloriously with a sense of speed that cannot be considered anything less than homicidal, “Shattering Vessels” has all the hallmarks of a crust record that utterly demands to be heard. Yet, its the sheer will of Neolithic that permeates every given moment of the album such that they have you by the throat right from the beginning with the end of the record a vicious act in of itself that the listener is snagged once more by reality with the real sadists quickly clawing back to the hellish whirlwind that is “Shattering Vessels”.

It’s already out of the gate that Neolithic proves itself to be a name that’s to be respected and watched in the glorious climate that the world of crusty death metal, but it’s all that has been delivered here that gives the band a ferocious aura that simply cannot be denied. There’s a lot to uncover in the mere 24 minutes of “Shattering Vessels”, but let one thing stand out more than anything else: this is not a band to be underestimated, for you if you then you’re sure to find yourself at the mercy of Neolithic’s complete mercy of which there is none whatsoever.

LISTEN to “Shattering Vessels” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Neolithic on Facebook here.