Sirius Records  band Afterbleeding released their debut EP “Paths Of Decimation” on February 24th and we’re here to bring the low down for you all!  One great thing that immediately stood out to me  are the great vocals.  Consistent gutturals that you can understand are so rare in extreme metal……huge thumbs up! The guitar riffs are so heavy, groovy and occasionally complex.  The guitar leads are equally as entertaining churning up a stellar output for the guitars on this EP.

What else I really dig is the artwork.  Your average death metal album art is well, usually pretty disgusting.  It has a cool post apocalyptic destructive world thing going on. That is a nice change up from the usual gore and ripped body limbs thing that we usually see on most covers.

The production is pretty good for a debut offering.  The vocals are up front, but not too overpowering in comparison to the rest of the instruments.  My only SLIGHT complaint is the drums and bass need to be turned up a hair.  Besides that, nothing dominates the mix too bad to the point that its unlistenable (which it isn’t!).  A terrible mix can kill the actual music of an album…..like Cavalera Conspiracy’s album “Pandemonium”.  The music is actually great, but it feels like it’s all vocals and guitar.  Some tracks, the vocals are much louder than the guitar and drums.  You can’t even hear the bass for the most part on that album! Safe to say, that is not the case here with Afterbleeding’s EP.

The drums on “Paths Of Decimation” are very consistent, heavy and groovy.  The rhythm between the bass and drums are extremely important in this band, with all the tempo changes.  For a young band, they’re pretty solid.  It’s a great start for a band on a small label, and I wish them nothing but the best.  Afterbleeding will fit into your library if you want a super groovy death metal band that doesn’t overcomplicate the genre.  If you want a solid mix of the aforementioned, these guys are your go to for your death metal fix.  Check out the album below, they also have physical copies available if you’re interested in a CD as well.

https://siriusrecords.bigcartel.com