SERMON OF MOCKERY puts the Brutal in Brutal Death Metal for sure on their debut EP. This 4-track collection is furious, a relentless assault to your eardrums. Pulverizing drumming, complex riffing and some simply vile animalistic growls and grunts make for a wild if short ride. In a sense, the short runtime works as a charm, as the band doesn't take any time to slow things down, give or take a few spoken word samples (that might not be heavy in sound, but are certainly heavy in content). Fans of MORTAL DECAY (vocalist Johnny Paoline comes from there), DYING FETUS or CRYPTOPSY might find stuff to like on "Crippler Crossface Murder Suicide".

The EP starts on full speed as "The Snakehead Epidemic" throws a barricade of blast beats, noisy riffing and pig grunt style vocals. The deep tone of Paoline might not be exactly unique in the scene, but it is every bit impressive as it embodies a savage, otherworldly force of nature. The track just doesn't let go on its heaviness and brutality through its nearly four-minute length.

The use of spoken word samples and Math-tingled riffing on both "Crippler Crossface Murder Suicide" and the expansive "Dr. Heiter's Creation" makes for complex brutality, just as impressive in its technicality -Oleh Matiytsiv's guitar work is particularly noteworthy- as it is on its vicious heaviness. The latter is particularly brutal, not only musically but also as it includes some very disturbing footage.

"Paralytic Wakening" walks a fine line between the rest of the EP and Grindcore, especially when it comes to Lev Kurgansky's work behind the drum kit and the punchy grooves by bassist Dmytro Semkiv on the third track. Its pulverising finale might be the most exhilarating moment on the EP.

Make no mistake, SERMON OF MOCKERY might not be reinventing the wheel with "Crippler Crossface Murder Suicide" but this is a solid EP that fulfils the promise of delivering bloody and punishing Brutal Death Metal, and makes for a noticeable introduction to the band. We'll have to wait and see what comes next from this quartet. For now, they surely are making some noise.