Extreme metal, at its heart, is inherently ridiculous. Not so much in a bombastic sense, but more in that here is an entire genre filled with musicians making a huge racket at breakneck speeds, normally maintaining and sometimes even insisting on keeping a straight face the entire time. It will probably come as no surprise to anyone however, that a band chooses to go by the moniker Killitorous and name their album Party, Grind isn’t quite as stone faced — but, what might surprise you, is that this injection of fun does nothing to detract from the music and instead results in one of the most downright brutal and infectious records you’ll hear all year.

Opener ‘Have You Found Jesus Yet, Gump?‘ sets the tone perfectly as a collection of cacophonous noise and cut and spliced samples from none other than, obviously, Forrest Gump. It’s an off-kilter start that sets the tone for the record surprisingly well and leads directly into the legitimately punishing and ruthless riffage of ‘Godking‘, mixing the sheer brutality of death metal legends such as Aborted, Dying Fetus or Benighted with some additional technically minded- meanderings that wouldn’t be out of place on any of those band’s most recent outings.

Alongside this, the band aren’t afraid to indulge in some unadulterated groove, paying tribute some of the more outright brutal components of the deathcore genre in tracks such as ‘It’s Not Stanley, It’s Stan Lee‘ and, the brilliantly titled ode to one of the greatest films and actors of our generation, ‘No, Not The Bees!‘ However, this doesn’t stop the band from also indulging in some grinding Cattle Decapitation-esque inhuman squeals in the very same track.

With Party, Grind, Killitorous have carved themselves their own festering niche in the already teeming body of death metal. They’re not ridiculing in any way, instead it’s genuine and relentless death metal that draws from all corners of the genre and isn’t afraid to do so with a gigantic grin plastered on its face as it gleefully samples the first Ace Ventura film and Gary Busey threatening your endocrine system. Killitorous aren’t making fun of death metal, nor its sometimes ridiculous tropes, what they’re doing is making damn good music and enjoying it. What more could you want?

Party, Grind will be available in Europe and the UK from September through Trendkill Recordings, while the limited edition is currently available through the band’s webstore.

Killitorous – Party, Grind gets…

4/5

– DL