Hell Itself, Self Skinned EP. If you like death metal then you are in for a real treat, as this is death metal at its finest. Self Skinned is a 3 track EP to entice the listener down the darkened path into the world of Hell Itself. Hell Itself has a wonderful sound, the heavy brutal guitars, laced with a killer groove, which gives the music direction and structure and just enough melody so all the tracks don’t sound the same. There is a very professional and clean sound to the brutality if that makes sense, which highlights the band’s skills and production technique and though the vocals are a deep growl, they are well delivered with some clarity and coherency.
With just three tracks it is somewhat difficult to pick standout songs, though I did find myself gravitating towards song number 2, Fallen Betrayer which would suggest it had a larger hook than the other two.
Fallen Betrayer has some catchy rhythms and some seamless tempo changes which only increases the pulling power to this song and the overall EP.
The band itself is made up of Loz Lamy on vocals which are spotless, Jarrod Woodcock and Jay Miller on guitar, the heart, and soul of the album delivering champagne death metal riffs and producing big grins on this reviewer’s face.
The rhythm section is handled by Tristan Endacott on bass and Benito Martino on drums. Despite the aggressive brutal nature of this album, they have nailed the songwriting as it has plenty of accessibility and a large chunk of groove to ensure repeat listens, an art that can be lost in the quest to make really heavy music for heavy sake.
All good death metal must have that gist clenching ‘oh yeah’ factor to it.
Self Skinned is an excellent death metal recording by obviously a very talented band and my only negative is the fact it only has 3 tracks to enjoy.
Highly recommended!
Hell Itself: Facebook
Release Year: 2011
Label: Grindhead Records
Category: EP
Country: Australia
Reviewed by Chris Rankin
