Kanine - Khaos (2026)

See that huge monster on the cover? See what's coming? Yes, definitely gonna be brutal. Absurdly over the top brutal. Kanine first album four years ago was already an excellent piece of slamming deathcore, Khaos is pushing it even more to the extreme. Bestial super angry vocals, massive bass drop, machine gun drumming, and of course slam and breakdowns at every corner. But they don't just do more of everything, they also are good at making it heavier and at the same time "catchy and fun", well, kind of :) you get the idea. I'm far from being a slamming deathcore specialist, but I think this album will be hard to beat for other bands doing that.

 

The BC page. 

 

Wiggavisceration - Sinista Slam (2025)

Read the album name, look at the cover art? You probably guessed what the music could be. This cover art is ugly and vulgar (I suppose it's deliberate), but totally succeeds in illustrating the music. Yes, the concept here is combining slamming death metal with some hip-hop elements. Sophistication would have been misleading, indeed. Now let's get to the most important point : is the music good? Yes it is, hip-hop and slam definitely mix well since both are all about the groove, and Wiggavisceration are great at doing that, both the death metal and hip-hop parts (death metal being the prevalent part) are mastered and Sinista Slam is a nice and catchy album. Vulgar, yes, but really enjoyable nevertheless (and, let's admit it, also because of it!).

 

The BC page. 

 

Sanguisugabogg - Hideous Aftermath (2025)

See the cover art? Yes, that's it, more serious and darker. With Hideous Aftermath, Sanguisugabogg goes one step further in the direction already undertaken with Homicidal Ecstasy. Slower, darker, less crazy slam (although the goregrind/slam element is still there and still nice). But while Homicidal Ecstasy sounded a bit too uniform to me, in Hideous Aftermath this evolution is more convincing, maybe because of the greater diversity making the songs more catchy and impactful. They even introduced some bit of sick melodies, some nearly djent like atmosphere, and a song evoking a lot Godflesh. With all this on top of the death/slam they do so well, they manage to keep your attention through all the album, from first note to last one. And I enjoy going back to it every day. Maybe it's even better than Tortured Whole was. And I wish they will keep on experimenting new things in the next one, they just proved they're good at that. But for now, I really recommend Hideous Aftermath!

 

The BC page. 

 

Vulvodynia - Entabeni (2024)

Blending every shades of modern death metal, from slam to technical and progressive death metal isn't an easy task, but Vulvodynia are more and more successful at achieving it, as you can hear on their new album Entabeni (with one of their guitarist replacing the former singer, and African mythology replacing alien entities as lyrical inspiration, and released by Unique Leader Records). And they manage to do this mix while keeping their own specific sound (especially the guitar playing that is very special). Perfect for anyone enjoying both the impact and groove of slamming brutal death and the subtleties of tech/ prog death metal. Highly recommended!

The BC page.

 

Xenotheory - Blissful Death (2024)

On this second album called Blissful Death, Xenotheory from Paris mutated their "alien slamming deathcore" into something that I would say lost in hardcore impact in getting a bit more repetitive and monotonous, with less change of paces, but gained in (dark and futuristic) atmospheric depth with more stress on the synth soundscape and the building of a massive wall of guitars for a result somewhere between slamming brutal death, Meshuggah and Cryo Chamber style dark ambient. Probably a smart move since it distinguish them more from most brutal/slam bands, another good album in any case.

 

The BC page. 

 

Ingested - The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams (2024)

Ingested is a band I always respected, even when I wasn't at all into modern death metal (they mix deathcore, slam, and even sometimes add some bits of nu metal and djent). I felt they were among the best doing it. The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams is their eight album and I think it will stay among their most memorable, keeping on, like the two previous album, writing more cactchy songs, with some clean vocals here and there and some melodic lead guitars. But don't run, they do it with a good balance between more catchy songwriting and keeping a massive and brutal groove. Good stuff.

 

The BC page.

 

FLUIDS - Reduced Capabilities (2024)

Fourth album from these modern morticians (yes, I do mean their music sounds like a modernized version of Mortician), Reduced Capabilities, unlike the previous album, doesn't experiment, with one exception, but one you'll notice : it's a Moby cover. No joke. I think Not Dark Yet was more memorable overall, but Reduced Capabilities is still an enjoyable listen, heavy, groovy, and fun in FLUIDS twisted way.

The BC page.

 

Wormhole - Almost Human (2023)

Listened a lot to their previous album, The Weakest Among Us, and am definitely not disappointed by Wormhole new album Almost Human, and am also listening to it a lot. It's a brutal confirmation that they are one of the best modern death metal bands right now. They excel at being both brutal and technical, with heavy slam parts as well as more melodic / prog parts. I'm usually more into old school death metal, but when modern/new school death is as finely done as this, I succumb to it with pleasure.

 

The BC page.

Cryptworm - Oozing Radioactive Vomition (2023)

Happy to say that death metallers from Bristol (UK) Cryptworm are passing with success the test of the second album (after a first excellent one) with Oozing Radioactive Vomition (out in mid december). The menu is still old school death metal mixed with slam / Mortician / goregrind for additional groove and putridity. Very tasty!

The BC page.

 

Sanguisugabogg - Homicidal Ecstasy (2023)

I like this second Sanguisugabogg album, called Homicidal Ecstasy. But I have to say I enjoyed more the first one, the totally awesome "Tortured Whole". I feel the first album was crazier and catchier than the new one, maybe it benefited from a more inspired songwriting, maybe because a slight shift towards more downtempo/slam and less goregrind makes the music more monotonous. That being said, I still recommend Homocidal Ecstasy (but if you don't know the 'Bogg yet, start with Tortured Whole!).

Their website

 

Xenotheory - Dawn of an Eyeless Realm (2022)

Slamming deathcore with synths is not what I would listen to usualy, but this first self-released album (but well produced and done by experienced musicians) on cassette from Xenotheory (from Paris) and called Dawn of an Eyeless Realm is one of the very few deathcore album I really enjoy. Been attracted at first by the name and cover art (done by Kax), and then came back to it because I like the music and especially the dark futuristic/industrial atmosphere the guitars, synth layers and modern sounding drumming are creating (reminding me a bit The Amenta). Good brutal groove as well, even for someone like me that is definitely not a slam/deathcore fiend. Sometimes, giving its chance to a modern death metal, or even deathcore, album is worth it. Recommended!

The BC page

 

Blemish - Demo (2021)

Blemish released my favourite grind demo in 2021. I really enjoy their death/grind with a gore/slam/beatdown groove. Will they release one of the best grind album in 2022? 

The BC page.

 

FLUIDS - Not Dark Yet (2021)

Not Dark Yet is the third album from FLUIDS, which is probably the best band following the Mortician recipe, and also kind of modernizing it, with the use sampled horror synthwave here and there, some slight trap elements in the drum programming. And on Not Dark Yet there's also a final death-doom song which is a good way of ending the album with something different. Heavy, groovy, gross, and fun.

The Bandcamp page.

 

Sanguisugabogg - Tortured Whole (2021)

Usually I'm not that much into the brutal/slam kind of death metal, but I have to say I really enjoy Tortured Whole, the first Sanguisugabogg album, with its nice injection of large doses of Mortician and Obituary grooves into more modern brutality. One of the best death metal album released this year.

Katalepsy - Terra Mortuus Est (2020)

With their new album Terra Mortuus Est, Russian death metallers Katalepsy went one step further in their evolution towards a more well-rounded, sophisticated and technical death metal, keeping their brutal groove mastery but keeping on developing the tech death elements and the songwriting skills for more balanced songs. In my opinion the result is really convincing, giving birth to one of the most memorable death metal album for 2020, with a very powerful combination of brutal/slam and technical shredding culminating in moments where it gets close to the kind of imposing presence that could be felt in Morbid Angel or Nile albums, with the means of modern death metal. Heavily and brutally recommended!   

  

The BC page.