Hammered through his hands and bleating like a sheep, the cries of pain from the nailed and howling liar might offer some righteous blasphemic porn for legions of dissenters since but, have you considered the joy of watching this false messiah rot and fester into a gaping pile of mush? Down to fattened beetles, worm shit, and bones with the corpse! Raining down upon the stinking pile of Christ with fire-branded fists for a full decade and now reaching their most ferocious hailstorm of martyr-goring riff on a second full-length, ‘Antichrist Above’, Peruvian blackened death/thrash metal band Putrid avail their cause by way of razor-sharp 80’s death metal as true and thrillingly rabid as their most evident black, death, and thrash metal influences. The irreligious fire of the Lima-based trio on ‘Antichrist Above’ is truly inspired, maniacally fast and sure to only resonate with the most devout riff-obsessed diehards the world over.

Well aware of the grand traditions and innovations of South American extreme metal, the fellowes in Putrid resemble some of their own countrymen to some degree but this is partially because their influences align sharply with the greats, such as the indomitable blasting death/thrash strikes of Mortem and the blackened warfare of Hadez. Thrown into face of the average death metal fan with any exploration of the past in mind the most obvious reference will be the god-form of Morbid Angel‘s ‘Altars of Madness’ with its high speed riff changes, brutal drumming, wailing solos, and unmistakable guitar phrasing; All of this translates into the core action of ‘Antichrist Above’. Of course this modus also includes strikes of everything from Liers and Wait and Grotesque up north down to Sadism and Atomic Aggressor nearby, not to mention the countless warriors within the states of which Sadistic Intent should be included here for their stalwart orthodoxy. The intended worship of the old ways should not be a huge surprise to the initiated — Established fans could consider ‘Antichrist Above’ a slightly more blackened iteration of Putrid‘s debut (‘The Triumph of Impurity‘, 2016) that hits the mark of the ancient ones even more clearly.

It is a riff album and that should be no surprise coming from the mind of Tunjum and Ayni guitarist Evil Avatar who’d gotten his start in black metal act Flagelum Dei in the early 2000’s. The compositions might be obvious in their influences but are no less effective for their violent attack, whereas the previous album had a few Massacra-esque riffs to spark up additional fire (and even featured a mid-paced song) this one dials up the death/thrash to a much faster pace and (also ex-Flagelum Dei, Ayni) drummer Drum Major of War keeps the blasts coming a la ‘The Devil Speaks in Tongues’ throughout. The violent guitar/drum interplay pairs well with lyrical themes that focus heavily on the rotting body of Christ, the outdated and festering corpse of Christianity, and go on to envision Priests raped in retribution, the glare of churches burning, and all manner of war against the enfeebled and foul influence of the cross. These are not intended to be deep thoughts or poetic pieces, all of ‘Antichrist Above’ sings violence and destruction upon the Christian religion and that focus is a beautiful thing to witness in the grand tradition of pure death metal.

As you might’ve figured the main reason many would love this fine record is the same reason many won’t connect with it. Putrid play with their minds precisely attuned to the orthodoxy of an undying death metal form, there are shades of black and thrash metal throughout that provide coloration for these strict forms but if you’ve no love for the 80’s death metal heart that drives ‘Antichrist Above’ of course it won’t be for you. I will never tire of this style of music and I found this album well above average in terms of blasphemic energy, full-throttle riffs, and getting the attack just right; It isn’t massively inventive but that isn’t what I’d be looking for with this style of music. I can guarantee that I will come back to this record for that thrashing death metal fix and for that reason I can give a moderately high recommendation of ‘Antichrist Above’, even higher if you are an enthusiastic fan of this style of death metal or death/thrash metal.

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