Artist: Cruentation
Country: USA
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2025
It is no real secret that I am only marginally entertained by what today’s Death Metal scene has to offer. This topic regularly comes up in conversations with friends and in my (almost) daily reviews, I absolutely love Death Metal, but 90% of what is being offered today is hardly anything more than repeating each other or themselves – or in the worst cases, both. I am honestly rather fed up with the uninspired and talentless bands that have really nothing to bring to the table that is not able to reach beyond a 6 out of 10 points, maximum.
Fortunately, there are still some Death Metal bands that manage to pique my interest. Perhaps not many, but at this stage I am happy with every little bit I can get. A glimmer of hope in troubled times when you have to fear the total demise of the genre. Okay, perhaps that’s a slight exaggeration, but it’s very nice not to always have to resort to records from three decades ago.
One of those bands is Cruentation from the USA from the Iron Bonehead Productions stables. The German label picked the band up after the digital release of the self-titled debut EP from early 2022 and gave it a physical release on both vinyl and CD. Apparently that was only the start of a cooperation, because here’s the band’s first full-length record under the Iron Bonehead Productions label.
Let’s first be clear. Cruentation has really nothing to offer that you haven’t heard before. It is not a band that goes into wild and exotic territories. In fact, Cruentation sounds strangely familiar. Yet, without having any other particular band as their example. This American trio (formerly quartet) just seems to blend in everything they like when it comes to Extreme Metal. The band’s basis is clearly old-styled Death Metal, but there’s a bit of a vague doomy vibe that gives the music extra depth, but especially the rather strong Black Metal edge makes ‘Damned Fallen Angels’ a massively dark affair.
With that tasty amalgam it feels as it Cruentation is largely the result of a band that’s set to mix some (very) old Incantation with Demigod and Demoncy. It is also rather hard to deny a strong resemblance with Bolt Thrower in the waning seconds of the title track. Consequently, Cruentation fits seamlessly alongside bands such as Imprecation and other contemporary dark and evil sounding Death Metal.
If you are into non-trendy Death Metal:
- with fatty, chunky, rolling riffs;
- with an overall sound that is NOT beaten into a soulless pulp with thick layers of blubbery guitars;
- and is not a mid-tempo, grooving snoozefest;
- that offers actual dynamics and songwriting;
- and on top has a profound dark atmosphere…
…you should consider giving Cruentation a shot!
