Haemophagus are from Italy and Subjugation are from Turkey. They’ve teamed up for this short and brutal split.
I was very impressed with Haemophagus’ début album Atrocious, and on this split they continue to impress with two tracks of quality Grindcore-infused Death Metal.
Hibernated World is an Old-School Death Metal revenant that stumbles and crawls its way out of the crypt. Savagely jagged riffs and evil, underground melodies combine with a cocky swagger to create a song that is confident and assured.
The vocals are dark growls that seem like they’re spewing acid and vile warnings. This feeling continues on into the second song Monsters in the Park, where the vocals are a little deeper but no less caustic.
This second track is faster with the rotting horror of the first replaced by a two minute grinder that still can’t resist a good groove in the last part of the song. Both are very good tracks but I favour this latter one very slightly.
Subjugation are a new band for me. They offer us three tracks in total and their Deathgrind has a Swedish Death Metal edge to the guitars, mixed with the taste of an older, less-polished Rotten Sound.
The vocals are ultra-deep and rough around the edges; they’re both uncompromising and satisfying.
Monuments to Greed is their first song and it’s a decent calling card for the band. Fast but not overly so; there’s some Swedish groove here too and it hits the spot.
Trembling on Broken Glass continues the theme only with a faster approach. The Swedish feel is still here in the sound of the guitars and it lends the band an immediacy to their already in-your-face style.
The final song Under the Whip is the longest at just under 3 minutes in length and is probably the most brutal of the three. The blasting eventually changes to a mid-paced chugging assault to see out the song, and, like Haemophagus, Subjugation’s final track is probably my favourite.
This short hit of Death Metal/Grindcore is just what the mad doctor ordered and is definitely worth a few spins.
Recommended.