Extirpating the Infected - Beheading the Dead (Sevared Records; 2010)

Describing slam bands as "groovy" has always struck me as a little funny. Not that it's not an accurate description, it's just odd that some of the most brutal and violent music can share a term with 60s hippy slang. I mention this because Extirpating the Infected's album Beheading the Dead is one of grooviest albums I've heard in a while.

Extirpating the Infected come from Spain, and prior to this have released one EP - 2009's Vaginal Saw Entorturement (review). Vaginal Saw Entorturement was pretty good, but it didn't do a whole lot to stand out from the mass of decent slam bands. In the year or so between Vaginal Saw Entorturement and Beheading the Dead however, Extirpating the Infected have improved. They're not yet ready to challenge the best of the European slam bands, but they've jumped to another level.

As I mentioned earlier, Beheading the Dead has some serious groove. By this I mean syncopation and rhythm are still the main dynamic going on here, but its more smooth and loose compared to other slam bands. The songs rumble along like a disfigured pile of flesh. Don't expect tight riffing and needle-like technicality. Rather, we have some serious headbanging grooves. In this way, Beheading the Dead reminded me a lot of goregrind or old-school doomy death metal. Beheading the Dead is still firmly rooted in brutal death metal territory, but it's got that loose, swaying feeling that those other genres have.

The main improvement over the first EP is increasing the originality and not relying as much on stock slam riffs. This kind of breezy slam is relatively easy listening, so to remain interesting over an album length the band needs to keep things fresh from song to song. I think Extirpating the Infected accomplished this goal.

Top tier slam this is not, but its still a goresoaked groovefest and should please most genre fans.

P.S. I love the expression on the guy's face on the album cover. It's like he just saw goatse.