BRODEQUIN is a brutal death metal band from Knoxville, TN who formed in 1998. “Harbinger of Woe” is their fourth full-length debut album—and the first one in twenty years! Being gone for two decades hasn’t dulled this band at all—simply put, “Harbinger of Woe” is one of the heaviest, most intense, and uncompromising albums I’ve heard so far this year—and I’ve heard hundreds. As a fellow Tennessean, I’m very proud we have this band. Tennessee is known for everything from country music to Elvis, and definitely not brutal death metal, so it’s nice to have such a band in this state flying this proud flag of death,

The album is ten songs and around 32 minutes in left—absolutely blistering. There isn’t a stone left unturned as the band tears it up from the opening second to the last. The transitions from one blood dripping note to the next one are unbelievable—each moment of blood curdling horror is seamless as the spilling of marrow from an open bone. It doesn’t hurt at all that BRODEQUIN, as their namesake might suggest, have lyrics centered around methods torture and the devices used to exact those methods. The subject is real; real people went through the blood-soaked nightmares, created by fellow human beings in a never ending display of masochistic bloodlust. As such, this is a very surreal, very honest, album about things that should not be but very much were. And still are I'm sure, in some dark corner of the world.

The production this time around isn’t as raw as the previous release but I’m a production whore so I’m definitely not going to complain about that. In fact, I actually think it makes them even more brutal—every note, very gurgling growl, every drum hit...it’s all heard so well and so glorious. Speaking of drums, Brennan Shackelford is the new man in the group and he straight up shreds. A drummer shredding? Hell yes. Does he have more than two arms? I mean, probably not, but his style is just so pervasive and unrelenting that it isn’t hard to imagine him being some kind of super mutant. Most impressive is that despite his speed, his vigor, his outright devastation, his sound is so clean and crisp.

Although this is, thankfully, the same good ol BRODEQUIN, there are a couple of “surprises” along the way. It is used in a subtle way but “Theresiana,” is loaded with atmosphere and “Of Pillar and Trees,” is surprisingly moody with some atmospheric tones I wouldn’t normally have expected of the band. But, if I’m being very honest, I really enjoy these two songs and can safely say they are perhaps my two favorite ones on the album. Although I don’t want the band to lose the appeal of their signature sound, I would be lying if I said I didn’t want them to further explore the ideas of these two songs in future releases.

“Harbinger of Woe,” continues the band’s impressive ability to keep such an underground sound just dynamic enough. It’s fast as hell but not always—they have a very near perfect balance between speed, mid, slow, and groovier moments. Of course, as with just about any type of brutal death, the song’s don’t sound too far removed from each other but no one is listening to this style for mini epics and variety. In the end, what I want with a band of this style, is never ending mayhem. The opening song, “Diabolic Edict,” definitely sets up the guaranteed delivery of that promise. Both Bailey brothers are masters of their crafts, riff machines that just don’t quit. Jamie’s vocals are among the most intense in the scene, a disgusting tone that teeters between growl and gurgles. It fits their music well and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The band is at their best when the riffs are slow, such as in the middle portion of this opening song, while the drums attempt to break the sound barrier. It’s a good effect that compliments even as it contrasts. Of course, they sound just as good barreling ever forward such as in “Maleficium,” where the song begins so swiftly, it somehow sounds like it was already playing before it even began. The drums are very much on point here, echoing my earlier statements about Brennan playing like a freight train/human hybrid yet his technique is so professional. The song gets dense around the 1:40 mark with the riffs tightly wound up while the vocals crash against them. Beauty in brutality.

The title track, as with any good title track, fully represents what the album is about. Most of the song is the audio equivalent of sticking your hand down a garbage disposal (that’s a compliment, by the way) but it gets disturbing and horrific near the end with the slower tempo, chugging riffs, and audio clips. Fantastic way to end the album. All in all, BRODEQUIN are already considered death metal royalty for many and “Harbinger of Woe,” is only going to further cement those thoughts. If you like death metal, or extreme music in general, you’ll be hard pressed to find an album that scratches the itch for it this damn hard.