It has been far, far too long since a creation of brutal death metal has really captured my attention and earned my respect right out of the gate. Oh, sure – there have been numerous acts over the years that have provided plenty of worthwhile creations, but incredibly few have been able to deliver on such a level that left me undeniably satisfied and truly wanting more. Likely not since the last albums from Depravity and Skinless have I felt such an instance of excellence in the realm of brutal death metal. Apart from another album from those guys, Gutslit is a good second guess for who would achieve such magnificence. With their third album, Gutslit proved themselves more than up to the task.

It doesn’t feel like it has been six years since Gutslit came around with “Amputheatre”, but time slows for nobody! I felt like it was only a matter of time before the Indian masters of brutal death metal would come back around to show us what they’re made of, but I have to be honest and say that I expected it to come much sooner even in spite of pandemic-related delays and lockdowns. However, the wait for “Carnal” seems to have made it all the sweeter. This record is but the next natural step for a band like Gutslit after having put out a standout creation by all accounts, and it is throughout the very whole of this new opus of gore that they show us they haven’t yet lost even so much as a shred of their touch. It’s right from the very beginning that Gutslit’s onslaught goes into effect in full swing. Not so much as an ounce of sanity is left in the wake of their terrible power, horrific visages, and complete mastery over what it means to rend the flesh as their true understanding of quality brutal death metal serves as the most perfect of vessels to deliver such madness in heaping forms. “Carnal” never misses an opportunity to deliver death upon the grotesque abomination that is life and all the contempt that it has for itself, and Gutslit is more than willing to answer that call of where blood and bone are sliced, chopped, and severed by jagged, unforgiving steel. This is what unyielding yet incredibly tempered brutal death metal is supposed to be, and it’s only fitting that India’s leading authority for the genre would be the ones to deliver it in such a capacity that we have no choice but to bask in the excellence for all that it dares to throw onto the butcher’s bench.

For years, I knew that something like this was only a matter of time. When I still wasn’t quite into what the world of brutal death metal would have to offer, Gutslit was one of the names that helped turned me around to what the sound has always had to offer and it’s only natural that they would remind me what it’s still able to deliver with this album. “Carnal” has something that every fan of the style should find magnificent in the slightest capacity with the very power and ferocity of these eight tracks enough to stay ringing in our ears for years to come.

“Carnal” releases on July 7th!

LISTEN to an advanced track from “Carnal”, “Matriarch”, on Bandcamp here or via YouTube below.

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