Sermon Of Mockery - Crippler Crossface Murder Suicide

Sermon Of Mockery’s new EP, “Crippler Crossface Murder Suicide”, is a dive deep into the depths of madness, and the brutalities of this all too familiar state of mind. 'The Snakehead Epidemic' starts things off with an in-your-face blast beat, which throws you right into the midst of chaos. The riffs are fairly traditional of the given genre with a slight technical edge, while the drums follow a mid-paced rhythm for pretty much the entire track with little variation. The band make up for it on the track overall. There are lots of 90’s vibes going on here, and with a more current approach to music of this type, things are pretty evened out when it comes to song structure. Think Cryptopsy’s “Whisper Supremacy” and Napalm Death “Fear, Emptiness, Despair”, although there is more emphasis on a brutal death metal nature.

Next, we have the title track, 'Crippler Crossface Murder Suicide'. This track is about the tragedy of a professional wrestler who murdered his family then took his own life. It was interesting that the band used an audio clip of the owner of the wrestling company where the wrestler was employed to start the track. With the obvious nature of the situation, it kind of sets the mood for the music that follows. The drum rolls come in with a nice little riff. Then a great guttural gurgle, reminiscent of those you would find in bands like Twitch Of The Death Nerve and Infected Flesh, greets your ears before absolute and intense aural chaos ensues. There is a little more variation in the drum work here which really lays into the immense devastation of this track. I absolutely loved the drum work here. Everything felt highly intense as every element comes together to tell the story of this senseless tragedy. Even the guitars have a really nice bite to them here. They took me back to the days of Cannibal Corpse’s “The Bleeding” album. With this track, the band wastes no time pulling you into the madness!

'Paralytic Wakening' immediately gets down to business as it jumps right into a mid-paced tempo with yet more variations and sparingly used blast beats helps give this track a nice technical feel. I am sure any fan of brutal/technical death metal will enjoy this one. This is probably the most unique track on this EP, and in saying that, this is where the band find their own sound. I like tracks like this. When you’re listening to a band and you can’t compare them to anything you’ve heard before. That is when you know you’ve found something interesting and unique. Not only that, but, you’ve also have found a band that knows how to take the knowledge laid before them by the bands that came before, and improve upon it; taking it into the next generation. This is one of those tracks and one of those moments.

'Dr. Heiter’s Creation' finishes this EP out and the intro, taken from the movie The Human Centipede, really sets this track off. The way this song is structured, it does seem to lose a bit of fluency in parts. It is extremely brutal, but to me, it sounds a little choppy in parts. Even so, it was a nice and fitting way to end this little chunk of brutal death metal. If this is what the band have to offer on an EP, then I am looking forward to seeing what they can put together for a full-length effort.

These guys are good, but I can see them getting better. Based on what I have heard here, these guys have the tools and the skills to be at the forefront of their chosen genre. Sermon Of Mockery have arrived, so prepare for the brutality! Comatose Music have released this EP so contact them or the band for ordering info.

4 / 5 STARS