Old school death metal is in the midst of a resurgence – and has been for quite some time now. This is great news for metalheads who are just discovering the deep, dark rabbit hole of death metal, and even better news for the purists who despise all the qualities that modern death metal has brought with it (i.e. crystal clear production, too much musical wankery, etc.) Expulsion is the antithesis of modern death metal, instead opting to imitate the OG style of the '80s to a tee. And how could they not? A supergroup comprised of true veterans of the death metal and grindcore scenes, the name Expulsion is a clever amalgram of two of its members main projects: Exhumed, and a little band called Repulsion.
That's right: Expulsion marries the putrid vocals of Matt Harvey with the filthy riffs of none other than Matt Olivio, rounded out by the inimitable Danny Walker of Phobia and Intronaut fame on drums and bassist Menno Verbaten of Lightning Swords of Death. Nightmare Future is a 14-minute throwback to the grindcore/death metal days of old, executed perfectly by this seasoned group of musicians. It's damn great to hear new riffs from Repulsion's legendary riff wizard, whose buzzsaw-infused riffs are so sharp and so potent, they'll grind your bones straight to dust. Matt Harvey's gurgling spew lends itself flawlessly to this old-school style of metal, as he's proved in his other Death-worshipping side project Gruesome, and Danny Walker's blasting beatdown of the skins proves yet again he's the most versatile drummer in metal.
The whole 14-minute duration of Nightmare Future is a giant shot of adrenaline that demands donning a battle jacket and banging your head until it falls off. Even with the aforementioned resurgence of old school death bands, few of them have managed to capture such a specific time period in the history of metal so accurately and with such poise – to be expected, considering this band's pedigree, but still. Songs like "Altar of Slaughter," the album's title track and the Motörhead-nodding "Comatose" don't just stand as gems by modern day metal standards; the nostalgia factor here will surely bring bloody tears of joy to the eyes of those who grew up listening to Repulsion and the like. Expulsion may be foretelling of a Nightmare Future on their debut, but let's hope this isn't just a one-off record, because it's a future that any hesher – or self-respecting metal fan – should want to be a part of.
Score: 9/10
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