Metal maniacs, rejoice! I am proud to present to you: STASS; signed via Emanzipation Productions, hailing from the glory of Germany/Swedish grounds - performing Death Metal, on their sophomore album entitled: "Songs Of Flesh And Decay" (released 15.01.2021).

Since formation in 2012; the quartet in question have 4 Singles: "Warriors Land" (released June 30th, 2017); "Dreams Of Rotting Flesh" (released November 27th, 2020), "Beneath A Darkened Moon" (released December 17th, 2020); "Hatchet Lover" (released January 8th, 2021). Aling with 2 Full-Length Albums entitled: "The Darkside" (released September 15th, 2017), and this here album that I am introduced to entitled: "Songs Of Flesh And Decay". 11 tracks ranging at around 34:33; STASS arranges an intricately designed formula on some heavy-hitting Death Metal developments.

Opening up with a blistering barraged frenzy in gnarly distortion, and an amplified adrenaline on rampantly tight trailblazing... "Dreams Of Rotting Flesh'' crafts a boisterously bouncy attribute in chunky crunchiness. Belting eardrums with this thunderous yet volatile pursuit in sonically seamless but bruising calamities, berserking chugs and galloping frolicks fabricate an intensifying bombardment in clobbering with yet primitively raw reverberation that rumbles with monstrously meaty maelstrom machinations of savagely sinister rompiness that result with relishing skill. Triggering versatility utilises vehement tightness, where weighty strikes revel with riveting surges on throttling mayhem that relentlessly stampedes with skyrocketing malevolence which will make you want to break chairs over other chairs in no time. Manifesting this brutally but absurdly catchy conundrum in filthy contortion, and impulsive aggression.

Consisting of CREMATORY's Felix Stass on vocals (that's where the band name comes from I would guess...); the frontman excels at a raspy yell that soars with deep, guttural growls...roaring with barbaric deadliness - where pipes of profusely robust rage that bleed into a gruesome but fiendish entity of total repugnance. "Forest Of Bony Fingers'' unleashes ruthless pandemonium upon those lands, killer laceration mobilities showcases sulfurous riffing prowess from guitarist Rogga Johansson. His dexterously weighty patterns unearths this momentous maelstrom virtuosity that towers with rapidly swift nimbleness, mighty substance & tempestuously organic noise terror that quintessentially quakes speakers with unrelenting impact. "Beneath A Darkened Moon" scours this spooky but brooding dynamic that still retains chiselling heat, sturdy thuds & sometimes meticulously melodic persistence that keeps on pummelling you with exhilarating extremity.

Lead guitarist Kjetil Lynghaug makes use of the maddening yet potent vibrancy of synergetic kicks that snare with razor-sharp spectrums that makes my soul tremble with full force, while this gravitational leap on stompy yet monolithic tempos mesmerises you with the sheer velocity & storming presence STASS provide. "I Work At Night" pulsates with persevering hooks, while distilling a fretting ability in frantic battering drum flamboyance from crushing basher Thomas Ohlsson, slamming rambunctiously with pummelling yet steely precision. Grinding along into a hybrid experimentation in fierce bulldozing, harmonising blast beating panache that forges an enriching arsenal in pounding yet pile driving domination & hammering ferocity.

"Sounds Of Terror" injects infectiously venomous thumpiness with this kind of doom-death aesthetic, until this metamorphosis transcends through towards a fiery yet sweltering combustion in lethally effective haste as hostile foundations conjure a borderline element in punchline profanity tenfold...shrieking strums rift with slaying subjugation within this macabre of unique undercurrents of immense fundamentals in flexible craftsmanship attributes that morph this swirling mammoth in a fuelled transparency that empowers an evil embodying swamp of scattering bass audibilities and gripping prowess to boot. "Fear Of The Living Dead" drills a scything riff of immense contrast, fatal retribution rebels with wrathful yet omnipresent outbursts while unravelling a distinctive but concretely gritty folly of volleys that will keep you transfixed & ultimately marvelled within the fierce crescendos it forges, ensnaring you with ripping subjugation on all fronts.

"As The Seasons Bleach Your Bones" diligently details blasphemous concoctions in dark but blackened psychosis... where melodious guitar hymns captivates one with this rusty scourge of iron, in which  spellbinds you with majestic strength & jarring yet mystical boundary in imaginary intrigue in gothic layers that swirl marvellously throughout while tenebrous visionaries eclipses a blinding embellishment in hefty but an ethereal agast in deathly attrition. "Skin That Peels Away" scrapes with grizzly brutality, tearing these mid-tempo shreds that oscillate through a chiselling but hardened strife that rifts with jumpy yet rotting filth along the way.

"The Skeletons Are Ready" revolves with more rounding riffs, where thrashing tribulations relentlessly storms with this soaring prestige on systematic madness that will motivate you with punishing zest (the good kind) while mimicking the lyrics & vocals which surprises me on how crisp yet fully clear they are amongst the mass of loud mayhem that ensues. Elsewhere, a foreboding assimilation on thick yet riotous rhythms structure sweeping yet prodigious persistence, while speedy yet visceral obscurity shrouds your soul with electrifying exhilaration.

The penultimate track "Hatchet Lover" brings forth hardened firepower chords that tremble with rattling stability, maintaining that tenacious slab of solid yet monotonous malignancy. Merging a crushing blend on meticulous uproar with stampeding veraciousness, bulldozing blitzkrieg & berserking fabrications that overall finishes this belting bruiser with this mythical outrè of foggy and synthesized yet mystifying sounds within "The Revenge Of The Bog (Sounds Of Terror II)". Bottom line; I am compelled to say that STASS certainly outdone themselves with this one. Definitely a grizzly headbanger of neck breaking contingencies which will make you want to replay this one a bunch of times, Metal maniacs alike are ablazed to spin this one. An enjoyably entertaining behemoth in which most surely deserves checking out...oppression awaits.