In the world of intensity and all things brutal, we truly do live in a time where we have the pick of the litter. More so than ever before, death metal and its contemporaries are more far-flung across the world than ever before with its influences, its legacies, and its futures more varied than what they have been at any point in the past. Every year brings with it new adventures that offer us new forays into what is still possible by new and old blood. For their sophomore effort, Nightmarer delivers to us what has to be hailed as one of the year’s most engaging excursions of intensity so far.

No matter what you want to dub music like this as be it more within the technical, brutal, dissonant, or whatever words you want to throw out in some random word salad, intensity such as this is what many of us are constantly craving for. It can be argued that material like this is becoming more common as time goes on with the arrival of new and fresh talent, but that doesn’t take a shred of gravitas away when we are given records like “Deformity Adrift”. Even in the smallest moments of the album where all pulls back and fades away, Nightmarer’s craft is of the sort that knows precisely how to get under your skin. It lingers and waits for the right time to burst forth in a terrifying display of undeniable ferocity and prowess in death metal on such a level that leaves the listener buckling before such awesome weight. “Deformity Adrift” constantly morphs its shape to fit whatever fresh hellish vision that Nightmarer summons from the darkness with the undeniable level of musicianship to match such a challenging form of songwriting, yet it is at every turn that this band manages to do nothing but succeed magnificently on what’s only their second full-length album. The very power and intensity that’s on full display for this creation is what standout creations are made out of, and it’s no shock to see why many are calling this one of the year’s need-to-know records in 2023 for all of death metal.

With records like this, how can one be anything but overwhelmed by excellence when it comes to all things related to death metal? Everyone interested in the sound has their own flavors with more than enough representation of those with limitless imagination, and it’s because of that that I’m not surprised to see how far Nightmarer’s name has spread after losing myself in this creation. Truly living up to both the band’s name as well as the title itself, “Deformity Adrift” stands as an eviscerating work of death metal that is not to be passed up by anyone who considers themselves a modern aficionado on the sound.

LISTEN to “Deformity Adrift” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Nightmarer on Facebook here.