Atoll – Prepuce (EP)
Release Date: 15th April 2022
Label: Unique Leader Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Slam, Brutal Death Metal.
FFO: Devourment, Party Cannon, Visceral Disgorge, Cannibal Corpse.
Review By: Rick Farley
I find doing Slam/Brutal Death Metal reviews very satisfying, not only is the music generally a blast to listen to, but I can shed off all the seriousness of trying to make you believe said band is worth your time and just have some fucking fun with it. In this case, Phoenix, Arizona’s slamming pig squealers are more than worth your time and will have you mutilating your genitals in no time. That’s actually a thing with this band, but we’ll get into that in a minute.
Atoll burst onto the Death/Slam scene in 2014 from the scorched wasteland of the Sonoran Desert like a subterranean worm chasing down Kevin Bacon. The band remains true to their genre, whilst force-feeding us grinding melodies, clever breakdowns and catchy onslaughts of pure brutality. Three full lengths and a couple labels later, Atoll hook up with Unique Leader Records for some comedically ridiculous song titles and seriously bruising jams on the heaving slab of Brutal Death Metal EP Prepuce. Six neck snapping tracks at around twenty-two minutes of Grindcore pig squeals, gurgling lows, virgin tight bass grooves, punishing intricate drum work and disgustingly heavy riffs. Faces will gurn, ears will bleed, and bellies will chortle with queasy delight.
The utterly, way too scary song title The Circumciser kicks off with a sample from the movie Year One concerning penises, foreskins and cutting of some sort. A heavy as fuck Neanderthal gym riff devastates everything within a three-foot range, inducing furious moshing at inception. Move all the furniture. The drums go from blisteringly fast double bass to sick grooves with enough stank on it to get the Shady Pines Retirement Home moving. Bits of guitar melodies and fast tremolo picking keep the track from being one note and predictable. I just can’t stress enough how fucking awesome this song is though, it’s just pure brutal fun from beginning to end of monstrous slamming Death Metal carnage and filthy pig snorts. The breakdown at the end is enough to cave in a building. Do yourself a favour and immediately check out the embedded video for this track which proclaims “No penises were harmed during the making of this video” I honestly may never eat a hot dog again.
A great Family Guy sample leads off the aptly titled Cirrhosis for Dinner with a couple sample check-ins of Dave Chappelle’s Samuel Jackson Beer skit that hits at exactly the right moments. Comedy gold within blisteringly ferocious and deadly serious music. Musically, these guys are not fucking around.
Another great song title is Knifed in the Butt complete with grooving guitar squeals, squawks and whammy dives. Vomit inducing double bass speed and blasting shows no restraint for personal safety and should come with a warning. Molotov Cock Tease brings down the spastic intensity for a few moments with some completely ignorant slower slams and riffs dead set on chain-sawing your guts out. Hitchhiker slithers its way through in a more traditional Death Metal manner, chugging its way towards an old school thrashy midsection. A discordant guitar solo leads into a bulky bass solo on the verge of atonality ends the song. Gathering Swarm is the least interesting of the six tracks, but has a sick guitar melody near the middle of the song that bring some unique eeriness.
For an EP, Prepuce is a must-listen. It’s nasty, harsh and aurally pummelling. Grade A carnage from front to back. Completely devoid of reverence for the listener, Atoll will completely satisfy your need for serious Brutal Death Metal and give a few ball tickling chuckles along the way. Anyone smell hot dogs?
(4 / 5)
