Engulf – Gold and Rust (Review)

This is the second EP from Engulf, a death metal solo act from the US.

This 11-minute EP wastes no time in establishing the dominance of its brutal death metal assault. This is music that takes no prisoners in its quest to lay waste to everything and everyone around it.

Consisting of three aggressive tracks, the music channels the spirits of bands such as Morbid Angel, Decapitated, Immolation, and Hate Eternal. The resulting carnage that the EP wears so proudly is testament to the band’s mastermind and his skill at distilling the essence of pure death metal’s inherent fury.

This is music that rips, tears, and hacks into flesh and bone as punishing drums relentlessly pound and jagged riffs slice and cut you to the bone. Brutal and aggressive this may be, but it also manages to create mood and depth via sinister atmosphere and macabre guitars.

The voice of the singer is dark and unforgiving; he unleashes Hell with a charismatic growl that is a shade less-deep than some of his contemporaries, but makes up for this with an extra infusion of personality.

The production values are high, with Gold and Rust sounding brutally immense and sharply delivered.

Overall, a strong release.