ANTHROPOPHAGUS DEPRAVITY (try saying that five times fast) is a Brutal Death Metal band from Indonesia.  "Apocalypto" is the group's debut album, released by Comatose Music on July 2, 2021.

ANTHROPOPHAGUS DEPRAVITY take the savagery of such pioneering Death Metal acts as SUFFOCATION and DYING FETUS to the next level with their punishing riffs, devastating blast beats and horrifying lyrical imagery of the, "vicious rituals of the ancient Mayan religion." Pandu Herlambang's vocals sound like a turd being flushed down the toilet in the best possible way; Eko Aryo Widodo and Rico Zerico's guitar playing is the definition of dissonance; and Cahyono Hari Wijayanto and Sahrul Ramadhan lock together so tightly as a drum and bass combo that they'll leave you with a splitting headache and a smile on your face at the same time.

The album opens with "Hymn to Apocalypto", a short instrumental track with a repetitive yet destructive riff that instantly made me bang my head. Ramadhan's drumming prowess shines through on this track, as he shows just how much changing a drum pattern can affect the sound of the same riff. After fading into sounds of the screams of innocent victims and knives entering flesh, the track "Forecasting Ruination" begins and never lets up on its brutality.

Other highlights from this album include "Temple of Sacrifice," which has some of the most brutal riffs on the record; "Immolation for the Sacred God," which starts off sounding almost doomy before bringing us back into the New York Death Metal-influenced sound; and "Mantra Solar Eclipse," the perfect way to end a thrill ride of an album such as this. That's the thing that is so amazing about Brutal Death Metal; while it certainly isn't my favorite sub-genre of Death Metal, I would be a fool to say the style bores me. ANTHROPOPHAGUS DEPRAVITY's sound is relentless. The group leaves no room for the listener to become bored; horrified maybe, but certainly not bored.

Overall, this album is amazing! Generally speaking, I do prefer to be able to hear what my vocalists have to say, which is my biggest complaint with the Brutal Death Metal subgenre as a whole. Chuck Schuldiner always made sure he got his point across loud and clear, and I can't say that I truly know what the point is that Pandu Herlambang is trying to make other than what I read in the band's press release. However, obviously, that is the aesthetic of the sub-genre, and the sheer amount of disgusting and vile guitar riffage on this album more than makes up for this shortcoming in my eyes. Brutal Death Metal fans, ANTHROPOPHAGUS DEPRAVITY has made itself known as the tough new bully on the block, and I'm willing to bet all the money in my bank account that the members of the band intend to keep it that way.