Grotesqueries - Haunted Mausoleum (Caligari)
Sometimes, a death-metal act shows respect for the so-called 'old school' in a way that surpasses slapping 'OSDM' tags on Bandcamp pages. Real respect demands that the death metal itself slap, and veteran drummer Yianni Tranxidis (ex-Black Mass, ex-Garroted, GOG) seems to know that. His one-man DM outing Grotesqueries arrives onto the scene with this bite-sized amuse bouche of a debut. Far more thoughtful than the typical demo, Haunted Mausoleum got snatched up by Caligari Records for a reason. Tranxidis's ouroborotic compositions give him an excellent obstacle course to showcase tasteful barroom drum madness and deceptively athletic rhythm-guitar crunchery. Listen to the opener "Flesh Prison," and the way its forward momentum crashes into itself. If you like these rapidly lapping sounds of classic DM, and the Girl Talk-levels of freneticism and savvy with which Tranxidis mashes together Morbid Angel, Symphonies-era Carcass, and early Dismember, then you may find yourself reordering this appetizer instead settling for the hot bar at your local 'OSDM' supermarket. This is lean, mean, and smart death metal.