EP Review: Open Surgery - Absolute Destruction
Reviewed by Drew McCarthy
'Absolute Destruction' is the fourth release by Open Surgery and honestly, there have not been many death metal albums that have impressed me much since 'Vile' by Cannibal Corpse was released. This EP is as good as that classic album and it blew me away.
Open Surgery were formed in Finspång, Sweden twelve years ago, bringing together members who had played together in various different bands. From their formation the band embraced death metal with an unbridled passion, taking strong influence from the classic Florida sound, being inspired by bands like Morbid Angel and Obituary whilst blending this with the style renowned Swedish death metal bands like Grave and Vomitory.
A year after forming, their debut album entitled 'Experiments Of Excessive Torture' was released which was followed by the band playing several small gigs around Finspång and Stockholm to promote the album. 'Post Mortem Mutilation', the follow up to the debut was released upon the metal community in 2016 and their first EP 'After Birth Abortion' came into existence two years later.
'Ceremonial Collector Of Skulls' is thus far the only single to of been released off the EP and the lyrics are as vile and disgusting as the title would suggest. This is guaranteed to be a song that will get many heads banging, with vocals that are reminiscent of Glenn Benton from Deicide and an absolutely blistering guitar solo, which surprisingly happens near the start of the song.
Staying true to the tradition of death metal, the lyrics on 'Absolute Destruction' delve into the extremes and abnormalities of human existence. The musicianship on display is in some ways is just as good as what has come before, whilst in other ways it surpasses it.