SEVERE TORTURE

SEVERE TORTURE – “Fisting the Sockets”

by Thor

Dutch death metal stalwarts SEVERE TORTURE returns with a brutal three-song EP called “Fisting the Sockets” – the band’s first new music in twelve years and the first project without founding drummer Seth van de Loo.

SEVERE TORTURE released a couple albums in the early 2000s that were undeniably excellent, and one of the notable if not super important details that sticks out about discovering those albums was how well this European band did American-style brutal death metal that was typical of the era. They fit right in with bands such as SUFFOCATION, BROKEN HOPE, and early DECREPIT BIRTH. Blast beats, chunky riffs, and garbage disposal gutturals for days. Super heavy.

SEVERE TORTURE released three more albums, culminating with 2010’s “Slaughtered” and then went silent…until now.

“Fisting the Sockets” takes the mantle and runs with it. The opening title track features lots of palm-muted midtempo triplet riffing with a classic two-tone vocal approach lead by Dennis Schreurs’ deep, articulate gutturals. This track places us right in the band’s wheelhouse, musically, as it evokes memories of death metal past. The second track, “Entangled in Hate,” is a grinder, upping the BPM and blast beat ratio, and delivering a short, violent assault. The EP closes with “Hands and Head Not Found” which maintains the high-speed aggression while upping the technical prowess, typified by a couple relatively melodic musical passages and a blistering lead.

SEVERE TORTURE’s “Fisting the Sockets” functions as a sampler for a band whose output has been on ice for over a decade, but one that’s also planning their future beginning with a full-length album rumored to be dropping sometime next year. These three songs kick ass and do a fine job setting high expectations for what’s to come. Count me in.

SEASON OF MIST

SEVERE TORTURE