Still rooted in themes of righteous defiance and operating with a shared vision of cauterizing away the predatorial opportunism of powermongers balls-first New York-based death metal quartet CASTRATOR return for a sophomore full-length album which further refines their long-developed balance between ‘old school’ classicism and moshable brutality. Though I’d found ‘Coronation of the Grotesque‘ slightly less obsessive in its rhythms than their previous record they’re no less direct this time around. Though their work is still laser focused on impact as a hammer-heavy crew album number two generally ups the precision of their heavily USDM informed ideation, further addressing the possibilities of a classicist death metal palette within their own increasingly groove-driven point of view.

Castrator formed circa 2013 by way of drummer Carolina Perez (Hypoxia) and bassist Robin Mazen (Derkéta, Gruesome) turning their focus toward a dual-vocal lead brutal death metal sound per their earliest quartet line-up. The results were inconsistent in tone on their debut EP (‘No Victim‘, 2015) where the chasm between moshable NYDM traits and earlier Florida death metal’s ex-thrasher push favored the former. I dunno if the international spread of their crew slowed their momentum beyond release but it wasn’t until 2021 that they’d onboarded their current vocalist, Clarissa Badini (Tartarus, Vicious Blade) and a host of guitarists for their well-received debut full-length album the following year.

Despite ‘Defiled in Oblivion‘ (2022) being an above-average debut cracked with ‘old school’ death metal inspiration and moshable brutal death metal breaks most of the conversation at the time centered around their confrontational themes and/or the fact that the band’s members were female. I’d praised the record at the time: “The riff-obsessed songcraft and structuring of ‘Defiled in Oblivion‘ is the major pull-in for my taste as each set of elite guitar progression shows some truly clever chord-dealing, firing off songs which read authentic[…]” where mentions of ‘Hate‘-era Sinister, Monstrosity and even the choppier death-thrash days of Torture Squad felt appropriate beyond the obvious as we’d also find early Deeds of Flesh inspiration in songs like “Sinister Mind”. The major driver in picking up ‘Coronation of the Grotesque‘ today from my perspective comes via the connection made between classic east coast USDM, the death-thrash metal that preceded it, and the brutality that followed it.

For album number two Castrator‘ve leaned into a similar ratio of forms while straying from outright brutal death metal slappage altogether in favor of ~3-4 minute moshable mid-90’s styled death metal songs in easily read arrange. Opener “Fragments of Defiance” leads with a tough and fairly uncomplicated riff-built swing as their guitarists now more forcibly meld rhythmic tact with kinda blunt-assed moshable deeds rather than separating those ideas into two modes, in the process the suggested “old school” death metal feeling almost resembles groove metal-era stuff like Disincarnate in passing. This is emphasized somewhat thanks to plenty of whammy-strangling and shredding leads from new lead guitarist Sara Loerlein, who is best known for deathcore band The Breathing Process, as all of shred involved feels like a directive aimed at early 90’s Florida death metal standards. Most of Side A deals in a similar brew of death grooves, mosh metal riffs and some thrashing remnants which add to the bouncier Master-esque step (“I Am Eunuch”, “Deviant Miscreant”) that picks up on the ride through.

The flow and tonal consistency of ‘Coronation of the Grotesque‘ isn’t as pristine as that of ‘Defiled in Oblivion‘ overall though the trade here is for amped variety of pacing. This leads to a less immersive record which scatters its impact across a battery of shorter, less impactful songs. This’d only bugged me when passing from “Mortem Opeterie” through “Deviant Miscreant”, finding each song righteous enough in its movement but avoidant of that head-down rhythmic pocket early 90’s death metal tended to enforce in terms of steady tonality. Very few of these songs had a chance to stick in mind as they’d scorched past though I’d generally found no issue beyond brevity to whinge about. I’d otherwise found more in line with my own interest over on Side B: “Psalm of the Beguiled” b/w “Blood Bind’s Curse” in particular reprise some of the techniques found on the opener, picking up some of the pace and upping the riff count beyond one transitional moment apiece. This is maybe more true of the latter, which I consider a major highlight on the album. The Exodus cover that closes the spin (“Metal Command” from ‘Bonded by Blood‘) I could take or leave but I respect their song choice and enjoyed the hit of thrash at the end.

My thoughts on Castrator are unchanged here, they’re still a solid death metal band with a clear mission communicated through their work. Here they’ve realized some of the potential found on their previous album while also taking a step back from its obsessive, brutal hand and while I preferred the more focused hammer of the past their authorship remains clear in its taste and (still) severe hand. Most all of the riffs are direct-shot and mean, the leads are generally improved even if not quite wailing with the late 80’s ex-thrasher soul the music calls for but this doesn’t mar the experience for my own taste. ‘Coronation of the Grotesque‘ is admirably relentless, straight forward and void of the uncertain hand for the riff which plagues so much of the death metal releasing in 2025 thus far. A high recommendation.

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