I’ve lost count of how much work I’ve done to Dyscarnate, poking at keyboards to the solid brutality of their latest opus ‘And So It Came To Pass’. In a sea of deep-V toting deathcore moshpit clone nonsense riding in from the Atlantic, the band’s dedication to honest death metal is like finding a toy in the bottom of the cereal.

While others are trying to go harder, faster, lower than everyone else in the search of ‘brutality’, Dyscarnate manage to reign in the speed without losing any momentum or power. Their ability to harness a consistently heavy sound between the chugging riffs and bursts of technicality are a testament to the thought they’ve put into their sound.

As expected, the odd breakdown flows in, without ever being cheap. Just like a good solo, they’re well placed, well written and on a leash.

I’ve got to admit though that the first thing that led me to hearing them was the cover. Ever a sucker for mythological iconography, thankfully the ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ theory turned out to be bullshit in this instance. The cover’s great, the album’s great, the band;s great. Sometimes you can judge a book (or album) by it’s awesome cover. Regardless of the fact some of the best albums ever made have the worst album covers conceivable. You can’t win.

On a second superficial note, no one can turn down a good pun and “Cain Enable” is a pretty fucking great one. As is the song.

Throughout ‘And So It Came To Pass’ the drumming is solid. Technical without being batshit and enough blasts to keep anyone happy. The guitar too has a bag full of tricks, avoiding the overuse of any death metal tropes, giving each track a refreshing variety and abstaining from predictability. The fact the UK still has talent like this is pretty uplifting – and yet Gary Barlow’s still on the TV.

You can buy Dyscarnate’s latest offering ‘And So It Came To Pass’ here. Or you could stream it, while we all judge you for being cheap.

Written while listening to Dyscarnate, unsurprisingly.