Feeding on despairing times with cruelest predatory intent the hammer-handed strikes of Boxtel, Netherlands-borne brutal death metal quintet SEVERE TORTURE serve to reclaim their long-empty throne as apex-level torturers of the realm. For their sixth full-length album the psychotic, malignant and defiant nature of morbid death metal held to an impossible extreme is yet revived per the uncannily approachable ‘From the Jaws of Death‘. After more than ten years spent in the void they’ve done a remarkable job of curating a more than worthy album to return with and one which smartly follows their evolution beyond their station amongst late 90’s/early 2000’s Dutch brutal death hordes toward their own still-classic ideal. You will feel beaten-down by this album, naturally, but you won’t be left feeling like your assailant was an idiot without tactics in hand.

Severe Torture formed circa 1997 with a sound is typically described as rooted in the peak standard of later Barnes-era Cannibal Corpse but was likely otherwise inspired by the increasingly active brutal death scene in the Netherlands, where their compatriots and contemporaries Houwitser and Centurian were a few years ahead in the process of development, otherwise. In fact the rhythm section of the latter (as well as their alter ego Nox) would continue to feature in this band per drummer Seth Van de Loo (’til 2017) and bassist Patrick Boleij as key components to their form of forcefully percussive brutal death metal. Their first demo CD-r (‘Baptized…‘, 1998) was quick to release, remarkable for its battery but arguably unfocused in an era where the standard was set by bands like Deeds of Flesh and to a lesser degree stuff like Scattered Remnants which wasn’t as obsessed with wall-to-wall brutality. The main event from the band to start was a surprisingly well-formed and atrociously brutal debut full-length (‘Feasting on Blood‘, 2000), which’d delivered a staple of the regional Netherlands brutal death sound as the bar was being set and re-set by an increasingly imposing scene at the time. When returning to these early albums it’d been difficult to reconsider that first impression, recalling a time in death metal when that debut was largely received as primitive, barbarous fare compared to what was being done at the time.

Much as that debut’d hit hard it was nothing compared to its direct follow-up ‘Misanthropic Carnage‘ (2002) a bonafide classic of Dutch brutal death metal and a vortex of riffs that’d solidified my interest in Severe Torture, though I’m not sure they’ve been as much of a thrill beyond ~2003. If there was an acceptable standard for canonical brutal death at the time I’d felt that record and its prime production values kinda hit it and moved on from that point. By 2003 they’d added a second guitarist in Marvin Vriesde and signed a two album deal with Earache Records. Most folks I knew at the time did not stick around for those two records per their step away from the ‘old school’ brutal death feeling, moving toward a next-generational dark-glossed sound and one which’d begun incorporating melody, far more technical riffcraft/rhythms, and exploring more than a few pace changes throughout. The hill to climb beyond 2005’s ‘Fall of the Despised‘ was that they’d definitely changed some but their work was still holding true to the cold, hard as nails brutality they’d began with. I believe from the band’s perspective they’d only just hit upon something of their own at that point and it that has been consistently expanded with each release since the mid-2000’s. Basically if all you ever wanted from this band was for them to stick to the riff-after-riff ripping focus of their first two records then you’d likely never spent any serious time with their 2005-2010 era stuff.

Around the time Nox had collapsed and Centurian had revived Severe Torture‘s fifth album ‘Slaughtered‘ (2010) was essentially the realization of what they’d been attempting to chip their way through for the two prior releases, some manner of melodicism and technical flair applied to hard-as-possible brutal death sounds. Fair enough if the drum sound was kinda shot, to me it is their most Deeds-sounding record overall, but it was a reasonable re-grab at the core personae of the band which’d worked with the interim movements made beyond traditional brutality. This is probably the general standard aimed for in creation of ‘Torn From the Jaws of Death‘ over a decade later but this time around polished production values and a new drummer, Damiën Kerpentier of Sepiroth, start to fully usher the legacy of the group toward a rare example of that late 90’s/early 2000’s Netherlands brutal death severity persisting with that standard. The ideal achieved is rare where yes, there is a straight forward hammer driving home their brutal nature but this is never grotesquely interrupted by the technical, progressive, and melodic traits that’ve added to Severe Torture’s style. Think of something like the first Spawn of Possession album or even certain Anata records in terms of their sound without forgetting their 2000’s Deeds of Flesh level brutality (see: “The Pinnacle of Suffering“) and likely some more classic inspiration evident elsewhere.

The point has been made subtly enough but ‘Torn From the Jaws of Death‘ is an exemplar record, polished to a point of nigh perfection as Severe Torture‘s attack reaffirms their -own- path away from the tunnel vision of second gen brutal death metal… but not right away. To start they’ve improved upon the cluttered presence and noisome drum production of ‘Slaughtered‘, decongesting its hunkered down presence with brain-worming yet blunt rhythms as opener “The Death of Everything” and “Marked by Blood and Darkness” blaze through riffs which fans of Nox‘s ‘Ixaxaar‘ should at least partially appreciate for the drilled-at style deployed which splits rhythm guitar performances between the right and left-hand channels and frequently trades off in brief tangent. Their approach is squarely on the riff and a storm of what most would consider classic brutal death metal rhythms for the first three or so songs, flowing through it before the title track (“Torn From the Jaws of Death“) ups the tempo and throws in some blackened death metal strikes, some Samoth-esque phrases rather than the usual Angelcorpse-isms, which breaks the ice on changing things up a bit. We get some Deicide style dual vocals on “Christ Immersion” to round out Side A, a set of five songs which fling past, rarely get caught chugging slow, and should revive the spirits of anyone missing technique and immediacy in death metal today.

You won’t likely miss the hype of those first five songs as they hit and that’ll be enough to sell the record to most but I don’t think ‘Torn From the Jaws of Death‘ proves itself substantive ’til we consider how they carry that hammer-in-hand brutality throughout the rest of the album while still invoking some manner of variety. The right ratio of kill-speed blasts and commando riffcraft versus some semblance of modern guitar techniques, atmosphere and such hits pretty squarely on with the stun-locking whip of “Putrid Remains” which only just allows a few interjections outside of their maul but when they do it is a The Chasm-esque riff in transition which amplifies the jet of the song rather than slowing it, not to mention the melodic death nod ~3:40 minutes in as they play the final moments of the song out. It is a remarkable point of finesse for a flip-side opener and this only bodes well for the shorter, more complexly lain pieces on the second half of the album.

Though I’d like to emphasize that Severe Torture have got something vital, different, new to show here right down to the last song most of those moments (such as closer “Tear All the Flesh off the Earth”) will naturally stand out within the fray at peak immersion. The major success of ‘Torn From the Jaws of Death‘ is that it shows it is possible for their guttural brutal death metal roots to incorporate bigger-brained ideas, more ambitious work without losing the bloodied-up savagery folks have long expected from the group. They aren’t reaching for tech-death lines or melodic ideas less often, though, in fact they’ve simply woven those forms into these songs and you’ll feel this uncannily memorable, almost catchy feeling arising in the midst of all the militantly hammered action going on. For my own taste, having been a fan since the second album released, I’d found this to be the right ratio of cruelty and finesse to suit their name and above all else it is bludgeon but an entertaining one. A very high recommendation.

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