Leaning into the annihilation available to the underdark with a menacing hand and embracing full transgression through the portal of the unrighteous path positions Topeka, Kansas-based brutal death metal quartet UNMERCIFUL slashing downward as they embody a possessed-and-murderous invaze of the realm’s pious via a flurry of mayhemic tech-death pieces. Applying unholy fire to their stabbing motion’d work these folks fourth full-length album embraces vengeful evil, corruption of impure souls in theme and in the process dements its glossier sound through a reasonable amount of groove heavy, hammer-hooved variety on ‘Devouring Darkness‘. Malicious guidance does well to hold their focus tight on bludgeoning brutal death metal here, an ideal ratio of unreal skill and severe impact which delivers one of the band’s better releases to date.

Unmerciful formed during the peaking psychotic break of brutal (and technical) death metal proper circa 2001 by way of guitarist/engineer Clint Appelhanz and original drummer James King. It’d be too complex a web to unravel with any sense but it’ll suffice to say that some consider this band an offshoot of Origin for the sake of how intertwined the bands were through ~2009 or so, guitarist/co-songwriter Jeremy Turner was also a founding member of Origin and the band’ve even covered an Origin song at the end of Side A on here. That other band is rad, that whole era of brutal death metal resurfacing with a new generation was wild, and these folks’ve done well to represent the classic but not ancient side of the sub-genre within numerous configurations over the years. For my own taste their debut LP (‘Unmercifully Beaten‘, 2006) is not only a savage marauder of a death metal album but a window back to the golden mid-2000’s era of Unique Leader when brutal death was still a serious underground export feeding off the momentum of the late 90’s. I still associate the band with that sound

Unmerciful‘s style has always been described as straight forward within the extreme tunnel vision of brutal death metal but remains notable for its connection made between ‘old school’ brutal death of the mid-to-late 90’s and the increasingly technical and extreme post-millennium waves beyond. Their sound has always been distinct from Origin‘s despite the close association of their beginnings, working with a lot of the same folks for their production values and album art along the way. For the oldest fandom King‘s drumming carried a valuable connection to the Suffocation-lead era of brutal death but from my point of view the band only just find solid footing in terms of the drums with ‘Devouring Darkness‘, building upon the successes of the previous LP (‘Wrath Encompassed‘, 2020) by incorporating the strengths of drummer Trynt Kelly (Marasmus). In this sense you’ll hear a balance of fiery technical ammo-dumping riffcraft, a sharpened array of guitar techniques and more percussive, melted-out grooves as this new album progresses from its first two second half.

A quick glance at the song titles should give a clear enough suggestion of Unmerciful‘s sinister intent here on album number four as fire, brimstone begin to hail on sight. The impact of ‘Devouring Darkness‘ follows suit as its first several pieces are shorter rippers, adrenaline charged shots at vengeful and malicious high-gear action to suit this directive. Nothing about this approach is vague or shrouded in mysterious language, you can’t miss it and will likely have gotten the gist the moment you’ve checked into opener “Miracle in Fire” which, yes, has some of that early Origin feeling to its guitar arrangements and trade off between vocal styles. This song hits on a couple of levels as an opener, particularly in terms of testing the production values with a crusher right away but also an upfront example of band locking in at full efficacy; New vocalist Josh Riley‘s style hugs the rhythms a bit tighter than the previous fellow, generally reconstituting some of the feeling of the band’s first two records with similarly deliberate, gunned cadence. I don’t know who wrote exactly what in terms of riffs to start but for whatever reason the trade between Turner and Appelhanz feels explosive, unreal in its grind as that first song hits. The album only gets meaner and more complex in its tirades from that point on.

“Unnatural Ferocity” pulls in some of that same attack, a blunt-edged groove that arrives in slabs, but it wasn’t until “Malic Unbound” hit right after that ‘Devouring Darkness‘ began to land a few punches that’d line up with my own taste. Those riffs, particularly the first several verse riffs, kinda took me back to that era where bands like Deeds of Flesh (and Origin) were inhabiting that unsure space between classic brutal death inspired exaggerations and absurdly technical force. Just as quickly we’re in a different headspace (“Devouring Darkness”) as dissonantly rung chords and chunkier Krisiun-esque grooves begin to speak a second language in Unmerciful‘s hands. The whole deal fleshes out quite a bit in pulling from broadened interest on Side A and despite the compacted, throat gripping attack they’ve brought with great consistency throughout. Every song hits somewhat different on their pass through the full listen, especially in transition over to the second half where Unmerciful‘ve left some interest to develop on the back end. You know the language they’re speaking at that point either way.

The militant shotgunned grooves in the first half of “Infernal Conquering” stood out as an early favorite as I familiarized myself with the full listen, a harder step beyond the compacted bulldoze of “Relentless Malevolence” before it. From there I’d felt like the style that “Malice Unbound” introduced is expanded even more on Side B, tightly writ technical rhythm guitar built phrases which rarely leave a chord ringing beyond punctuative stamping. The peak of this shoulders-raised, vein busting aggression hits around my favorite piece “Voracious Lunacy” and I figure anyone likewise seeking some fresh blood poured onto mid-2000’s brutality with a tech-handed muse will appreciate the action found on the back half. The arc of the action on ‘Devouring Darkness‘ impressed outright but the riffs were the main reason I’d revisited this record as many times as I did. Pecking through the details, the rhythmic machinery of the second half of the LP was probably the best time I’d had with it outright but I could still hang with it and enjoy it as a full listen just as well.

Not every detail is perfection here per my experience, though most of my gripes are pretty damned minor. Production was ace and well-improved over the last one, a seamless presence with an unholy crisp to the rhythm tones but I’d wanted more bass guitar in there in general. Not a huge fan of the layout up front as it kinda eats the cover artwork, though it is a good mess of action and all, but I can’t hang with an orange logo in any case. And though I didn’t fully get the inclusion of “Vomit You Out”, especially when songs like “Devouring Darkness” kinda hinted at something different and new… it did however fit in with its surroundings and a worthy flex of a good piece. All in all I’m probably going to reach for Unmerciful‘s debut first when the occasion calls but I think I’d go for ‘Devouring Darkness‘ right after, both sate a similar need for tech-adjacent brutality that still has an ear bent on classics-era brutal death impact. A high recommendation.

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