Mortuous, Cemetery Filth, Dungeon Filth and Black Candle set to SPEW all over Boggs
Written by Scott Belzer | April 16th, 2024
Mortuous, Cemetery Filth, Dungeon Filth, and Black Candle set to SPEW all over Bogg’s
If you’re anything like me, you subscribe to the notion that “there’s no school like the old school” when it comes to death metal. Give it to me grimy. Serve it up on a sewage-laden platter. Make me trudge through muck and mud during my listening experience. Gurgle it to me, baby!
And if recent releases are anything to go by, there’s an entire generation of bands that agree. You can hear the evidence in literally thousands of old-school death metal releases year after year. You can see it with the never-ending tours coming through Atlanta. You can smell it in.. well, I don’t know if you want to smell it, but you can breathe it in for hours if you do. And that’s a beautiful thing.
MORTUOUS are by no means new arrivals to old-school death metal, but they remain one of the most consistent and decimating. The San Jose quartet has been slinging slime-filled riffs and depth-trudging brutality for more than a decade now, with their sound only getting more realized with the passage of time. This is impressive considering members also dedicate time to other projects, including such heavyweights as Necrot, Stormkeep, and Vastum (as well as Exhumed once upon a time).
And where those projects may provide an outlet for slower doomy grooves and experimentation, Mortuous appears to be the outlet for raw, unfiltered, sewer-swimming death metal. The beauty is that those spooky sensibilities are ever-present. There’s as much Necrot and Vastum in Mortuou’s cavernous calamity as there is.. well, Mortuous.
The band’s 2018 LP, Through Wilderness, employs that sweet, sweet buzzsaw sound amid soaring solos (“Through Wilderness”) and even some downtrodden synth (“Prisoner Unto Past”). Their latest LP, 2022’s Upon Desolation, relies more on a deep, dark, cave-dwelling cohesion, but there’s still plenty of showing off going on in the form of supersonic solos (“Days of Grey”) as well as violin (“Nothing”, “Defiled by Fire”) and even piano. It takes what worked on Through Wilderness (see: everything) but, Mortuous being Mortuous, brings it up to the next level—all while layering it in a smog-esque glob of goo and distortion.
It’s rare to find a band as consistently reliable as Mortuous. It’s even more rare to find one that has a hand in other great acts and skillfully incorporates elements from those acts without, well, fucking it all up. They’re go-to death metal that’s frill-free except for when they absolutely want it to be. And these folks have the experience and wherewithal to know when (and when not) to interject said frills. If you’re like me and like to see a band stripped down to their core, start at their latest LP and work your way back. It’s short, but you’ll still find yourself clawing back the goo and gore and finding riff after riff. It’s truly a visceral experience.
And if you find yourself craving more cave-dwelling carnage, come see Mortuous, Cemetery Filth, Dungeon Filth, and Black Candle at Boggs Social & Supply on Sunday, April 21.
CEMETERY FILTH is one of Atlanta’s best old-school death metal bands, and it’s great to see them tour with such a fitting heavyweight. Like Mortuous, Cemetery Filth trolls the depths of a deep, dark (and DANK) graveyard, spewing ‘90s-inspired riffs like a vomiting child fresh off a Ferris wheel. Listen to the sheer chutzpah of the trio’s latest LP, 2020’s Dominion, or bask in the raw talent on 2014’s EP Screams from the Catacombs. Then listen again! Then come see them put on a clinic live.
Right on their heels is DUNGEON FILTH, a band that never stops taking names and kicking ass. If you’ve been to a metal show in the past three years, you’ve witnessed the power of Dungeon Filth. These three youngins combine death and grind, often displaying more energy in their pinky toes than most bands have in their entire repertoire. Get on Dungeon Filth’s level. Come to know the deep, dark depths of deathgrind.
BLACK CANDLE scratches that vintage heavy metal itch we all know and love. With a vocalist that could by and large double for Rob Halford, Black Candle not only brings groovy, fist-raising rhythms, but also soaring melodies that can, at times, truly touch the heart. A personal favorite of mine that’s always sure to be an earworm is “Allegiance of Steel,” which could close or open any band’s best set. It’s a rallying cry for metalheads like you, dear reader. Best pick a side and join the fray.
-Scott Belzer
Mortuous, Cemetery Filth, Dungeon Filth, and Black Candle take the stage on Sunday, April 21st at Boggs Social & Supply, tickets are on sale here.