Some things are just meant to be. Whether it’s a band coming into their own and really showing us what they’re made of or a band calling it a day before overstaying their welcome, the underground is simply littered with creations that just feel right for one reason or another. When Maul put out their first full-length album not too long ago, they poised themselves for excellence in the realm of unforgiving, nasty death metal. With their joining to the roster of the esteemed 20 Buck Spin, destiny seems more than a little on their side with this new creation cementing that.

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that there are many different ways to go about death metal. Slow and methodical or unrelenting and dripping with bile or anything else in between, there is no shortage to the options, but it takes a special band of a different caliber altogether to thrown something down and really make some waves. Death metal has had no shortage of such acts in recent times depending on who you’re asking, but it’s even amongst them that there are those that stand out from the crowd quite a bit. Maul is effortlessly one of them. While still relatively simple and adhering to many of the pillars of the genre that have lasted throughout the decades, it’s in practically every given minute of “In the Jaws of Bereavement” that we get a masterclass showcasing of what it means to know your sound inside and out, have a clear vision of what you want your specific sound to be, and have the capacity to bring such a monstrosity to life. Ten tracks of unyielding gore and sodomy that are a simply intoxicating blending of the old and new of an ilk that many in death metal aspire to channel yet extremely few every achievement, “In the Jaws of Bereavement” is a delectable slice of madness that should cater to damn near every fan of modern death metal and beyond.

It really is no wonder why many are considering this the album of the year as far as death metal goes, and I cannot find myself disagreeing with such an opinion. “In the Jaws of Bereavement” is the embodiment of what it means to watch an act metamorphose into something spectacular before our very eyes with Maul the absolute perfect vessel to bring it to life. Death metal has had no shortage of supreme quality out of its rising acts in recent years, and Maul has more than earned itself a place in that conversation.

LISTEN to “In the Jaws of Bereavement” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Maul on Facebook here.