Feature: Brutal Christian Death Metal – The Essentials

But wait, isn’t all death metal pretty brutal? Sure, relatively speaking. But brutal death metal is a subgenre of death metal too. Back in the very early 90’s, secular death metal giants like Suffocation, Immolation, Cannibal Corpse and Incantation had begun to take death metal into a much heavier and more guttural direction than had hitherto been seen before. The Christian metal scene, it seems, was still dealing with the controversy of playing death metal in the first place, and while albums like Mortification’s Scrolls of the Megilloth, Metanoia’s In Darkness or In Light,and Living Sacrifice’s Nonexistent were punishing records, stylistically they were still mostly rooted in the sounds of the first wave of death metal in the 1980’s.

However, those records did seem to set the stage for heavier things to come, and in 1994, when Crimson Thorn released its debut, Unearthed, and Living Sacrifice released Inhabit, I feel like all bets were off when it came to how heavy Christian death metal could become. Since then, a number of bands developed the brutal death metal style. Here, I’ve collected what I feel to be the essentials of the style from its beginnings. Prepare to shake the foundations – these are my picks for the essential brutal death metal records you need in your record collection.

PS: We’re talking specifically death metal here, so you won’t see any deathcore or slam bands on here, no matter how brutal. That’s for a separate list.

Living Sacrifice – Inhabit

Once upon a time, Living Sacrifice was a death metal band that reigned supreme, and few albums hit as supremely hard as their third one, the almighty Inhabit. Combining the violence of early Immolation with a plodding sense of dread that helps to reinforce the incredibly dark tone of this album, Living Sacrifice created one of the most unique-sounding death metal albums in music history. This was no small thanks due in part to the criminally underappreciated original vocalist, Darren “DJ” Johnson, whose strained guttural bellows give Inhabit a feel like no other. Sadly (tragically, in my view) the band would leave the death metal genre largely behind after this one, but it retains a major cult following to this day, and for good reason. Frighteningly intense, but a haunting record too. And yes, the Nordic Mission reissue is coming!

Crimson Thorn – Unearthed

Living Sacrifice’s Inhabit was a signal that Christian death metal was becoming much darker, heavier and more extreme. But I would argue that ground zero in the most proper sense for when it comes to brutal death metal in the Christian scene has to be Unearthed by Crimson Thorn. Combining the pummelling, percussive sounds of Suffocation with the approach of early Cannibal Corpse and Bolt Thrower, Crimson Thorn’s debut took Christian death metal to new depths of heaviness. While some might argue that Mortification’s Scrolls of the Megilloth hits harder, Crimson Thorn’s work was far more guttural and gruesome-sounding, and heralded the birth of a wave of Christian death metal acts willing to take the style to the next level. Though Luke Renno would later continue the legacy of Crimson Thorn with Taking the Head of Goliath, it’s Crimson Thorn’s debut that remains an untouchable classic of the style. You know what I’m going to say: MANDATORY.

Beheaded – El Valle de la Decision: The Two Demos History

1994 saw the rise of one other early brutal death metal act: Mexico’s Beheaded. Though the sound on this release is ultra-rough, it gives a key insight into the beginnings of the brutal death metal style. The production is pretty raw, but the super-low gurgles of Marco Lopez are something to hear firsthand. Beheaded, of course, would later become the melodic death metal legends Lament, and some of the heaviness on these demos can still be heard echoing through the Tears of a Leper record. A great sample of brutal death history.

Corpse – From the Grave

Mixing the groove and slower pace of Obituary, Incantation and early Cannibal Corpse with the more chainsaw-like guitar tones of Grave, Corpse is another one of those bands that released a single album before vanishing into the ether. Shambling and ugly, but also possessed of a certain grooviness to it all as well, From the Grave would bear fruit in the sounds of later acts like Morbid Sacrifice and Indwelling. Fans of a more mid-paced style of heaviness will no doubt love this forgotten gem.

Broken Flesh – Stripped, Stabbed and Crucified

Few bands in death metal are as intense, visceral and relentless as Broken Flesh. Though they are better known for albums like Warbound and their self-titled 2015 release, it was this EP that stood out as their best work. The only release of theirs to feature Richard Puckett (formerly of Obliteration, whose excellent EP Dying Age would foreshadow the material on here) on vocals, Stripped, Stabbed and Crucified was a militant slab of terrifying death metal that leaned into the sounds of early Incantation, but skipped the doom elements. If you thought Steve Rowe’s famous roars were startling, just listen to this one. Shocked by the title? According to the band themselves, “‘Stripped, Stabbed and Crucified’ is a song written for Pastor Carol Daniels from Anadarko, OK” who was horrifically murdered for her faith; “The song was written in the simple honor of a believer being persecuted, in the most extreme way, for following Jesus” (read the interview here).  

Disencumbrance – The Betrayal

As soon as you hear the bass and the punchy, ultra-tight drum work kick in, you know this one’s going to hurt. Disencumbrance’s 1995 EP The Betrayal is a short but extremely sweet chunk of brutal death metal that fans of early Suffocation and Dying Fetus will salivate over. Unfortunately, like many bands in the Christian metal underground, their catalogue is extremely sparse. Still, what we’re left with is a minor classic of intense, percussive death metal that will definitely make your day that much better. A crucial release.

Tortured Conscience – Every Knee Shall Bow

Tortured Conscience took the hyper-aggressive approach of bands as disparate as Cryptopsy and Pig Destroyer, added a touch of Living Sacrifice-style groove, threw it all in a blender, and created a classic of 2000’s death metal carnage. Much like Broken Flesh, Tortured Conscience here focus on creating a sonic maelstrom that is at once exhausting and exhilarating, though the latter here bear tendencies towards grindcore rather than deathcore. Blindingly intense in the best way, Tortured Conscience’s Every Knee Shall Bow remains an untouchable opus of righteous fury.

Secretion – Reborn

Secretion had already been trading in some of the ugliest underground death metal for several years by the time they released this, their sole full-length album so far. Having become Christians before the release of this album had no effect whatsoever on their hideous take on underground brutality, other than the lyrics changing. Imagine if Obituary played Cannibal Corpse’s Tomb of the Mutilated and you’ll get a picture of what this two-piece band are up to on here. Lo-fi and immediate, it’s grotesque sound eschewed any sense of modern polish and accessibility…and to my mind, that’s a good thing. 

Encryptor – Sermon Decay

Adorned with some of the coolest cover art I’ve ever seen in Christian metal, Sermon Decay is about as rank as it gets. Permeated with a distinct grindcore influence, though staying largely within the realm of death metal, Encryptor’s second album is an onslaught of death metal power that is as exhaustingly intense as it is heavy. Imagine Crimson Thorn, Defeated Sanity, Deeds of Flesh and Suffocation all wrapped into one gigantic slithering wad of sonic mayhem, and you’ll get an idea of what’s on this one. 

Come to Pass – Splitting Shadows

Though it was only recently released, I have to say that Come to Pass impressed me so much that I think they’ve earned a spot on this list as a representative of a new wave of brutal OSDM in the Christian scene. It’s that good. Picking up where bands like Corpse left off, Come to Pass here mix the high-treble sonic laceration of Swedish death metal with the bowel-shaking noise of modern OSDM bands like Undergang. A leading act right now that I hope will be indicative of good things to come in modern Christian death metal, Come to Pass are one of the best examples of brutal OSDM going.

Clemency – Spiritual Domination

Man, you could have fooled me if you told me this was released during the latest glut of OSDM acts flooding the metal underground, but no, it came out in 1999. Brazil’s Clemency, unlike fellow countrymen Antidemon who mix a heavy helping of grindcore into their sound, play full-on death metal in the old-school way – no frills, no gimmicks, just straight up brutality. Spiritual Domination opens with an incredibly eerie intro track that sounds more like a black metal intro than a death metal one, before diving straight into some of the heaviest hitting Christian death metal out there. The drums are punchy and staccato-like like Suffocation, the vocals are guttural bellows similar to the ones heard in bands such as Crimson Thorn, Metanoia, and Hyperdontia, and the guitars have a Morbid Angel-like flair to them. If you can even find this rare little EP, it’s definitely worth it.

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