Blasting out of SLC with a raw torrent of aggression comes a group that brings the blaring putrid Death to life in the valley. There is more than just the love of fresh powder on the surrounding peaks that comes from Salt Lake City. With bands like CHELSEA GRIN, THE STENCH and SUBROSA to name a few who emerged from the area, it's no wonder the band RECIDIVIST emerged from here as well.

Having formed back around 2022 where they released their first single “Caverns of the Dead” which put the band on the road they are still on today. RECIDIVIST offers an unapologetic display of raw Death Metal that is influenced by earlier contemporary Death of the 90’s. Their abrasive raw sound is often influenced or tinged in hardcore as the quintet showcase their tone. RECIDIVIST now takes their unforgiving and caustic sound of Death to new heights as they release their debut full-length album “Madness Malformed”. Released on November 1, 2024 under the banner of Creator-Destructor Records, this album offers nine tracks of raw aggression that offers you 29:58 minutes of putrid Death. With eight new tracks plus a re-recording of an earlier release ”Cryptic Nightmare”, this album is sure to be disgusting in all the right ways. So let’s get into it.

An interesting display of Death that seems to emerge out of a smoke filled with what looks like tormented souls within a dark cave. Some kind of smouldering red mist with a face within sits just below Death’s scythe. Brazenly displayed in the upper left is the band’s logo in blood red while the album name sits bottom left in a blood red gothic font. The artwork is amazing and detailed, really well done and offers a display of a solid Death Metal album cover. The choice of shading and colour as well fits perfectly with the shades of greys, whites and black.

A news broadcast from what sounds like an old zombie film starts the album off with “Radiation Apocalypse”. A broadcast about a radiation fog that is spreading and bringing the dead back to life. I love it! The sound shifts into what can only be the showcase of zombies. The old 80’s horror suspenseful sounds build into a woman screaming before fading into the next track. A simple drum track begins with a good reverb before the one guitar kicks in with another that squeals that leads into track “Zombie Invocation”. Solid Death chord progression paired with good drum rolls that build into some decent slam riffs. Decent switch-ups that help pick the tracks speed up as the caustic vocals that coat the track and even a decent solo pops in to squeal as the track ends. The use of reverb is decent here, but I feel a bit more compression would have helped.

“Altar Of Skulls” begins with a very familiar riff before breaking out into the main tone of the track. Raw slam Death chord progressions that are paired with a few good drum rolls. Good beat and short track that leads into a dark ambience of “Cryptic Nightmare”. A slow sludge of Death builds into some harsh screams that echo beneath the guitars, subtle drum rolls can be heard just beneath. The track soon picks up into a torrent of squealing guitars and thick riffs. The vocals sit a bit too low, but then again everything has such a heavy reverb in place, the clarity gets a bit lost. There is a pretty sweet solo that makes its way in and shreds.

Overall, “Madness Malformed” is a decent album that showcases the rawness of old school Death Metal but sadly they overdid the reverb on this one. Due to this, it gets a bit muddy and the levels often get blurred. It does offer up an underground old Death Metal feel despite this. It almost has a crust production value attached which further displays a rawness similar to Black Metal. Production value aside, they are offering a solid older Death Metal sound that often allows for melodics to peek in from time to time with Heavy Slam riffs. The song writing is simple but good. There is a ton of potential for this band as they move forward. I'm curious to see what comes next and would recommend taking a look for yourself. Go get a copy and give it a go, you may be pleasantly surprised.