NUNSLAUGHTER/BLOOD
NUNSLAUGHTER/BLOOD “Split Mini-LP”
By Dr. Abner Mality
Death metal grampas can still get it done! NUNSLAUGHTER from Cleveland and BLOOD from Germany are both older than dirt and have been offending people since the very dawn of death metal. They still have a lot of lessons they can teach new wave bands like UNDEATH and SANGUISUGABOGG, which they do on this new split mini from Hell’s Headbangers.
NUNSLAUGHTER take a surprisingly mid-tempo approach on their half of the split. “Far From Christ” has a good groovy oldschool crunch to it, without a lick of “technicality” and overdone wankery. These guys beat up Jesus like he was a pinata at a kid’s birthday party. “This Cross Was Built for You” takes a similar headbanging approach. They finally hit the gas with “Leave Me In My Grave”, but never lose control of the song. This is the way classic death metal was meant to sound.
I think BLOOD has been around even longer. They are truly one of the originators of death metal, but they add the spice of grindcore as well. I get the impression these guys were probably punks when they started out. They vomit up four tracks here and they work at a faster clip than NUNSLAUGHTER. After a cool intro “Imperator”, they blast into “Parasite”...this is death grind of the most vintage kind, with an oozing, sludgy tone and discrete, juicy riffs. The bellowing vocals sound like a bull trying to sing. Their tracks fly by, but leave a lot of wreckage in their wake. BLOOD and NUNSLAUGHTER have both done more splits and singles than you can easily count...who’s going to pick up the torch from these guys when they’re gone?