At any given time, there are plenty of acts out there that are seeking to emulate what was done in the infancy of the genre. Whether it’s channeling the style of songwriting that was laid forth decades ago or being an act that outright worships another in practically every form, we truly have the pick of the litter when it comes to bands keeping the old ways strong and very much alive. Some, though, attack things from a much more head-on kind of approach. Doing just that to make their first full-length album pack more than a mere wallop, Tormentor Tyrant is primed to raze the entire planet.

It’s one thing to try and channel a big name whether it be Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Death, or anything else that may come to mind, but it can be a particularly tricky thing for bands to move beyond being a simple mirror of their influences in order to become something that’s certifiably their own. Many have tried to do so and many have fallen short for one reason or another, yet those that rise above such a challenge manage to stand tall and defy expectations practically all the way around. For the whole of “Excessive Escalation of Cruelty”, Tormentor Tyrant does that in such a brutal fashion that one cannot help but be taken aback by what has been thrown down. A real love letter to those classic albums that many of us still become lost within, this is the kind of record that really shows us what it means to channel that same energy while putting forth material that is in no way cookie-cutter and simply eviscerating in every aspect. The pedigree of the musicians at work here speaks for itself, yet the sheer ferocity that’s overflowing within “Excessive Escalation of Cruelty” remains something to be experienced. An unyielding whirlwind of blood and bone that death metal is always striving to summon without losing an ounce of power, each of these nine tracks are nothing less than prime specimens of what happens when it’s all given the right approach. Voracious and bloodthirsty, there isn’t a moment wasted by Tormentor Tyrant to ensure that this isn’t some undirected insanity with a few riffs to call its own. Rather, the fury and chaos here is conducted with true aptitude and capacity to make for an album that becomes more than its influences. A body of work that holds nothing back and is never once content until the earth squelches beneath your feet from all the spilt blood, “Excessive Escalation of Cruelty” more than lives up to its name.

While there are throngs who have clamored over the decades to do some semblance of justice for the classic veins of the sound, not many have been able to twist the craft into their own vision of extreme violence quite like what Tormentor Tyrant has accomplished. A singularly brutal assault that never misses an opportunity for the sickest mutilation, it’s the whole of “Excessive Escalation of Cruelty” that one can never get a reprieve from the overwhelming horror with the future only sure to hold further carnage as long as these well-accomplished masters of death have anything to say about it.

“Excessive Escalation of Cruelty” releases on January 24th via Everlasting Spew Records!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Excessive Escalation of Cruelty” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Tormentor Tyrant on Facebook here.