Red Is the Color of Ripping Death

Nunslaughter have been around since 1987 and have an impressive discography, though this is only their fifth full-length studio album. The rest is a collection of demos, splits, EPs and compilations and what have you. I had to go back to 2000's Hells Unholy Fire, their first full-length and my introduction to the band, to see where they're at after all this time.

Well, the good news is that the band haven't lost their touch at all. This new album is, of course, a little more refined and the band is a tighter more experienced unit, but that doesn't take anything away and the album is filled with the raw, savage, demoniac death metal that they're known for. It's not super fast, it's even kind of thrashy at times, but speed is not what Nunslaughter are about anyway. You do get some speedier passages that sound so raw they rip your ears off, but there's also a lot of emphasis on a dark and evil atmosphere and the slower passages are downright crushing and creepy, all served with a dash of catchiness that'll make a lot of the songs instantly recognizable.

Some bands get mellower with time, but Red is the Color of Ripping Death (killer title track, by the way) shows that Nunslaughter have no intention of becoming choir boys any time soon.