Death metal ‘authenticity’ scarcely matters to the general audience the genre speaks to primarily because it is so hard to define. The reality is that a wildly obsessed old school death metal fan, such as myself, could only point towards the inspired origins of death metal for so long until I’d surround myself with dull, close-minded tributes. That sort of conservatism breeds defiant new generations of death metal fans, who may have started with nu-metal or deathcore and perhaps moved on to technical death metal in their journey; The result can be those who would overlook the past for the sake of the future. As played out as straight-forward death metal seems at face value to some, I would argue that what really pulls new fans away from the old rhythms is lack of inspired ideas and energy. There is no such lack in this debut from Faceless Burial, a pure death metal release that features ex-members of hardcore punk band Cut Sick and the brilliant, blasting grindcore of Internal Rot.

In fact, somehow, ‘Grotesque Miscreation’ oozes with authenticity that helps the band stand out in such a crowded sub-genre space. Comparing this full-length to their 2015 demo it seems the trio has lost some of their rawness in favor of a warm, hi-fidelity recording. The approach to production and the strict death metal direction that the band has taken results in a tightly-wound, aggressive record not unlike Corpus Rottus ‘Rituals of Silence‘ but with a sense for clever mid-paced moments you might hear on albums like Unbounded Terror‘s lesser known ‘Nest of Affliction‘ or more precisely Rottrevore‘s ‘Iniquitious‘.

At about 35 minutes the album is cut down to its most important musical statements, there is no filler here. This should appeal to genre die-hards as well as folks who like to dip their toes into memorable death metal riffs without getting lost in atmospheric noodling. As tricky as it is to be an ‘old school’ death metal band that isn’t offensively plagiarist for the sake of being ‘retro’ in 2017 Faceless Burial have nailed  it; and ‘Grotesque Miscreation’ is a tasteful celebration the most evil, and least pretentious, era of death metal.

Subterranean overtures. 4.0/5.0