Filthy metallers, EXPUNGED, released "Into Never Shall" on July 30^th, 2021. Hailing from Canada, they are self-proclaimed, "Sick, rotten, coated in filth of death metal". Truly having captured a memory for me; walking into some dark bar in the old district of downtown Tacoma, Washington, USA. A bar called Hell's Kitchen. The kind of bar that all the local metal bands play at back in the 90's and early 00's. This is the kind of music I would expect to hear at a place like that. Not polished, rough, hardcore, and promising to melt your face off. This is the heart of Death Metal, in my humblest opinion. Truly, some of my most favorite shows I've ever attended are those unknown bands in seedy venues. Bands I may never remember their names, but I do remember I had an absolutely WILD time. The realest of the real music lies in those places.

"Decompose" - Seductively dark riffs on guitar, lulling you into a deceptively peaceful trance. Rising in crescendo and depth. J.S. vocals are truly a scorching reminder of death metal of old, fast paced and leaving you breathless. "Torn Apart" - Raw aperture, scalding vocals. The vocals in this song sound so very like those of some garage band; a sound they wear well. Chaotic, hateful, growling yells combined with raw, rough riffs. A combination that drives home the vintage Death Metal sound to a T. "Drown in Fire" - With a marching type, boot stomping beat; this song comes to remind you that the album, "Into Never Shall", is not here to pacify your feelings. Nor is it here to make you feel any semblance of flowery and pretty. No, this album came to remind you to headbang hard and keep your horns high!

"Into Never Shall" - Rich guitar riffs, perfectly timed drums; yet somehow still holding that filthy garage band sound that keeps the sound edgy. Vocally stunning in its unpolished simplicity. Tremolo plucking mid-song carry a swift pace for the song as a whole, altogether assaulting your ears. "Stolen Life" - This song comes in with a twinge of Industrial Death Metal, with its dystopian sound. The drums by A.K. stands out in this song particularly well. A good drummer adds so much spice to a song musically, as clearly obvious in this song. Just after the 3-minute mark is some guitar riffs that I am downright obsessed with.

EXPUNGED is a talented band who knows how to make a unique sound in today's musical world. I really like how they lean towards that unpolished, raw type of sound. It wouldn't be quite as scathing of an experience if it was polished. "Into Never Shall" is the debut full length album of EXPUNGED, following a prior EP released at an earlier time. Check it out!