Kruelty have been on my must-see list since they started touring the states a year or so ago, making their rounds alongside growing death metal acts like Sanguisugabogg or hitting the fest circuit such as LDB or FYA fest. Consisting of an awesome mixture of crushing grooves akin to Bolt Thrower and old-school death metal elements similar to Entombed, Kruelty know how to craft death metal for the modern age.

Filled to the brim with some serious heft to their sound, Kruelty have an unstoppable, uncompromising sound that would be played as the Urak-Hai storm into Middle Earth. Coming off of the back of their 2023 record, Untopia, Kruelty continue to showcase their unrelenting, unstoppable sound into 2024.

200 Stab Wounds are probably one of the biggest breakout bands in the new wave of death metal currently continually one-upping themselves in every way imaginable. Taking inspiration from foundational death metal acts like Cannibal Corpse and Dying Fetus, 200 Stab Wounds don’t hold back as they unleash their pummeling sonic assault of extreme metal leaving nothing but ashes in their wake as every pounding grove, tasty riff, body-breaking rhythms, and unfiltered mayhem rains down upon listeners. Setting themselves up perfectly for the rest of the year, 200 Stab Wounds recently released their latest single, “Hands of Eternity,” an absolute ripper that grows upon their last full-length, all in anticipation for their next record, Manual Manic Procedures, coming out this summer.

Full of Hell self-describes themselves as “shape-shifting grind terror,” which may be the perfect description for them, as they have this almost-impossible-to-describe sound that walks the line between multiple genres and no genre. Full of Hell manage to create a sound that is free-flowing, unfiltered, unadulterated, and borderline dystopian. It’s this exact approach that has set Full of Hell apart from the pack. By removing any and all niceness or prettiness from music, they’ve taken a sound, and rammed it down a wood chipper until all that is remaining is the scattered pieces to be put back together in a holistic new way. It’s this chaos, that feeling of walking a tightrope, where Full of Hell thrive as they make the uncomfortable comfortable merging sounds and noises to create a new form of poetry and art.

A band that know how to perfectly toe the line between technical death metal, grindcore, and even hardcore, Dying Fetus have been an unstoppable, unrelenting force since 1991. By finding that perfect sweet spot between brutal guttural style vocals, bludgeoning riffs, earth-shattering blast beats, and heavy-as-nails hooks, Dying Fetus have created their own unique brand within American death metal. Forming in the early ‘90s during one of the worst decades for heavy music, Dying Fetus started off their career during the final days of death metal’s initial prime being buried alongside so many other heavy acts during the time under the crushing weight of the new wave grunge and alternative movement.

Even during these tremulous years for metal, Dying Fetus still released a slew of really well-done and kick-ass records, slowly growing their underground reputation as a great studio band that could also be consistent live, so when lineup changes started, founding member Gallagher persevered forward like nothing happened, having already been hardened with experience from the ‘90s. Instead of faltering and sinking, this is when we really began to see the rise of Dying Fetus into more of the mainstream areas of metal throughout the early to mid-2000s.

Dying Fetus are one of those acts that is best experienced live, so I’m glad I got to catch them again, since I last saw them in 2018 opening for Hatebreed. A non-stop brutal set that makes you feel like you’re caught in a crossfire between lighting-fast blast beats, skull-crushing breakdowns, neck-annihilating riffs, and vocals that sound like they’re bellowing from the deepest, darkest pits of hell, Dying Fetus continue to lay waste everywhere they go, whether it’s opening for a massive metal tour, playing in the middle of the day at some huge fest, headlining hardcore fests like FYA, or stopping in Joliet, Illinois on a random Thursday.

Dying Fetus know exactly what their listeners want, and they’re technical musicians that can also switch on a dime to ignorant caveman riffs that make you want to revert to the Stone Age. There may not be a better time than right now for extreme metal or really metal in general than since the ‘80s. Whether it’s brand-new bands, new fans coming into the genre, or foundational acts like Dying Fetus still tearing it up, everyone is feasting upon this massive meal right now.

Dying Fetus

Full of Hell

200 Stab Wounds

Kruelty