Artist: Mangled Recrement
Country: Poland
Label: Caligari Records
Formats: Demo Tape
Year: 2026
Although this band consists of a trio of musicians who have already gained some experience in bands such as Toughness and Leucotome, Mangled Recremant has only been active for a relatively short time. With this self-titled demo tape, released by the American label Caligari Records, they are making their debut. Fans of fairly straightforward, no-nonsense Death Metal will find something here to help them get their daily Death Metal fix.
To ensure things go smoothly, it’s best not to set your expectations too high. That’s not to say there’s nothing to enjoy on ‘Mangled Recrement’, but the standard isn’t particularly high, and even with a running time of just 15 minutes, there’s no guarantee your attention will remain focused on the music for the entire duration.
With a slight Grindcore twist and a few frantic attempts at technicality, Mangled Recrement seems to be trying to bridge the gap between the somewhat grittier-sounding Death Metal à la Autopsy and the more complex style of, say, Gorguts. The result is something that comes closest to Broken Hope’s first few albums. In terms of sound and intention, that is, because the standard set by Broken Hope is never reached or even approached. Whereas Broken Hope still has a charmingly ramshackle side on ‘Swamped In Gore’, for example, Mangled Recrement sounds mainly messy, and that across the entire length of the demo. Drummer Trumna, in particular, really messes things up at times; I don’t know if he’s been deliberately mixed into the background for that reason, but at certain moments it’s genuinely annoying. Bassist Ziemowit, too, who is sometimes clearly audible in a Cryptopsy- or Suffocation-style manner, doesn’t always sound very convincing.
This all sounds rather negative, and in fact this debut demo isn’t particularly good. Still, there are some decent ideas to be gleaned from the jumble, but it seems clear that a great deal of water will have to flow down the Wisła or the Oder before this can be properly recorded. Demos are intended to give a glimpse of what a band has to offer and to explore ideas, so in fact there’s no such thing as a bad demo, but Mangled Recrement would do well to put in plenty of practice before getting down to the real work.
