CONTAMINATED were formed in 2013 and they are from Melbourne, Australia. The Death Metal band released one full-length album and two splits so far. Their sophomore album “Celebratory Beheading” has a length of about 40 minutes, and it was released via Swedish label Blood Harvest, which has many Black, Death, and Thrash Metal bands among their current roster. No official video has been released yet.

The Death Metal assault starts with the frantic “Suffer Minutiae” at a crazy pace mixed up with a couple of down-tempo breaks. The guitar riffing is punishing, the hammering drums are deadly. The growling vocals vary between the low and medium end of the guttural range. It is a very direct and aggressive kick-in-the-face track. “Cosmic Shit Show” is a seamless continuation of the opening song. The pace is blisteringly fast, probably even faster compared to “Suffer Minutiae”. There is a down-tempo break halfway through, led by strong basslines and a spine-chilling melodic framework intensified by the vocal screams. However, all the rest is a blast-beat festival in best Death Metal manner. “Feral Demise” starts with blood-freezing dark melodies and guitar riffing at a stomping rhythm. It does not take long for the blast-beats to show up and the song develops to be a back and forth between crazy speed and slow parts. The riffing is somehow monotone during most parts of the track, which contributes to a dark atmosphere. Darkness prevails during the almost doom-laden “Beneath Empty Sockets”. The track is a mixture of slow steamrolling and pummeling fast parts.

“An Unnatural End” continues with the Death Metal attack. There is hardly any change between the tracks, all of them have little technicality in the guitars and bass, the drumming is mainly based on the blast-beats, and the vocals are relatively monotone with a few tonal shifts now and then. Some tracks have additional background screams to intensify the atmosphere. “Final Hours” sounds darker than most tracks, especially during the doomy break during the middle part of the track. Apart from the spine-chilling aspect, the track is also a mixture between extremely fast parts and slow parts. “Final Hours” is however an album highlight because of the blood-freezing atmosphere, which is excellently transported to the listener. “…At The End Of A Shank” goes back into the brutal bludgeoning mode with a few twists in tempo and rhythm.

“Apex C.H.U.D.” starts at a measured tempo with powerful riffing and as time goes by, the track switches again to crazy speed. Once again, there is vocal background support, which enhances the grim atmosphere of the track. “Desire For Agony” is one of the rare tracks, where the guitar riffing slightly differs and offers a long-expected change. It is also the track with at least some simple lead guitar contributions. Apart from that, it is another short pummeling affair as well as the closing track “Junkyard Warfare: Celebratory Beheading”. The final track does not have the blistering pace of most album tracks as focus is put on creating a grim atmosphere. It is a good and fitting end to the album.

CONTAMINATED deliver a punishing Death Metal carnage. “Celebratory Beheading” is a celebration of the bludgeoning aspects of traditional Death Metal with doomy twists and brutal elements. This concept is not a new one and the downside of it is the lack of technicality and the monotony in the sound. The album is well produced. “Celebratory Beheading” is an album for those Death Metal fans who like it brutal and dark.