Torturing the undead within a cavern-bound ocean of phosphorescent bile where stone and fungiform beasts relish in captive masochistic squalor we find Alberta, Canada-based death metal trio DYING REMAINS channeling grotesque B-movie horrors and 90’s death metal grime as they mash together this brutish debut full-length album. ‘Merciless Suffering‘ is a half-hourlong maul between moshable grooves and unreal leads which’re evocative of an era of finer rhythmic insight but that doesn’t hinder the blunted swings of their attack, holding the line between the murk of auld and nascent brutal death metal tonality. The impact of this record might initially appear blasé as an ‘old school’ indulgence but with some due attentiveness from the listener there is a solid, ugly yet moshable pure death metal horror available within.

Dying Remains formed between current/former members of death-thrash metal band Detherous at some point prior to the 2023 release of their first tape (‘Entombed in Putrefaction‘, 2023) with what I’d consider an ‘old school’ (re: early 90’s) brutal death metal inspired sound in mind. Of course you might’ve noted their name appears in reference to early Morta Skuld, a mid-paced groove driven Midwest band from back in the day, and that kind of checks out per the dredge of their sound on that first EP. References to debuts from Broken Hope and Gutted, bands that’d caught onto the developing New York/Florida paradigm nearby, might be more apt comparisons depending on the song in that instance. For the majority of this debut record they’ve tightened up their attack, leaning into a chunked-at percussive verve which fans of Baphomet‘s (NY) more moshable side and/or early Jungle Rot should appreciate off the rip. I’m not saying they’re recreating NY/Midwest death metal circa ’92 1:1 but these folks bring that aura and sound to shorter bursts of their own moshable distillate.

If you’re eyeballing this record, the title font on the cover is giving you Dying Fetus-sized nausea, and begin preparing yourself for another three riff metallic hardcore record aping classic death metal aesthetics you’re recreating my own first impression… ’til realizing these folks are pure death metal fans and their approach here reflects that pretty damned clearly once you’re face-first into their torture chamber. Sure, the first few songs are congested with big whopping moshable riffs but most of the time Dying Remains are dropping into the pit, not living there entirely, and they’ve made sure to insert plenty of whammy-whipping dives and spurts (see: “Upon the Torture Rack”, “Grotesque Remains”) to additionally reflect their interest in skull-cracking death metal. I will say that the guitar tone is a shade crispy for what they’re up to but in the context of brutal death metal adjacent sounds that clangor only adds to the character of the whole deal. It works best when they’re thrashing at it and once you’re swimming in the bile of “Chamber of Cruelty” you’ll get what I mean.

When I say shorter bursts, spurts, quick hits etc. I mean these songs clip past the three minute mark maybe a third of the time giving ample time to shape a few riff ideas into contrasting grooves but not enough to develop any particularly engrossing depth beyond the flow through. This is most effective on Side A where brevity allows for snapped-out and mean death metal songs to rifle off one after another. Dying Remains are good at this, no doubt, but Side B is where I’d felt the ideas were moving beyond the spicier diarrhea that hits up front and developed a bit more finesse beyond shooting chunks. I’d found the slower paced and simple enough swerve-and-pummel of “Under the Scalpel” kinda made good on the band’s namesake alongside “Crushed” right after, at least this’d been the section of the album to convince me to at least take a closer listen on the next few passes through.

There are a couple of finer details I’d appreciated with consideration for the whole package here and I think the obvious one is the nod to ‘Dying Remains‘ album art wherein Lucas Korte‘s framing of a cavern of unearthly tortured remains appears to take some direct inspiration from Morta Skuld record’s own idea while including infectious globules, bone-crucifix and more reasonably visualized restraints for the suffering undead. It is busied and obscene in the best tradition with plenty of detail for the eye to roam over within the span of the album’s half hour scrub through. Otherwise the gist of it is that ‘Merciless Suffering‘ is a pleasure to scratch through as a concise, kinda brutal but not flatly stupid death metal record with guitar (and general rhythmic) interest set just above-average per the current North American death metal underground. I figure it’ll be authentic enough to surprise a few folks who’re on the hunt for ‘old school’ inspired damage down to the last detail. A high recommendation.

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