Artist: Protrusion
Country: USA
Label: Unholy Domain Records / Sevared Records / A Sangre Fría Records
Formats: Demo Tape / Demo CD
Year: 2023
Although Protrusion is a new band at the front, three of its four members have a decent track record in the (for the most part) Death Metal scene. Despite that fairly impressive resume, guitarist Kyle Christman, with his eight years behind the drum kit with Gorgasm, may be the only one that rings a bell for many. But that these gentlemen have previous experience is obvious when listening to these first three tracks, aptly christened ‘Demo 2023’.
The three tracks, together accounting for just over 17 minutes, bring you a serving of Death Metal that smells somewhat putrid, downright rotting, perhaps. Due to its largely slow pace, ‘Demo 2023’ feels like a slowly rolling mudslide that drags everything it encounters with it. That feeling of mud, muck and blubber is further reinforced by Colin Foster’s crackling and ultra-low grunt, which sounds not too far from that of Antti Boman of Demilich. A comparison that is not ending with the vocals, also the overall sound and feel is not completely free of those classic Demilich recordings. Yet, Protrusion portrays nothing like the technicality of that of the Finns. On the very contrary, even. Despite playing around with tempo changes and even some well-executed lead guitars, the whole thing does feel somewhat one-dimensional. But it is clear from everything, take for instance the title of the second track, ‘Slugs Of Decadence’, that the band was keen to achieve exactly this almost lurching pace and atmosphere; it was clearly not their intention to deliver a technical and overly-musical feat. However, it is in those moments, when the throttle is pressed a little deeper, that the band comes out a bit more dynamic (fresher?), but if you like your Death Metal served up dirty, rancid and just plain all-consuming, you should definitely consider making Protrusion your next stop.
Whether you like the rather one-dimensional approach of the band or not, you can only conclude that ‘Demo 2023’ is a more than successful mid-tempo Death Metal demo. Yes, these guys know their drill, that’s for sure.
