Australians know a thing or two about Pop Punk, and DeathFuckingCunt are no strangers to the scene, with their hummable hooks and heart-warming verses.
Of course not.
This isn’t pop-punk. This is an untainted, unrelenting grab-bag of brutal and technical death metal. A caustic case study in the artform that is tangibly violent, facial-rearranging aggression, Decadent Perversity (Transcending Obscurity) is armed to the teeth with speed, fury, and bluster.
The family-friendly moniker of this fierce foursome is bolstered by track titles such as ‘Fisted Into Form’ and ‘Garroted By Frenulum.’ Looking past that, therein lies technicality and ruthlessness. ‘Decadent Perversity’ doles out intricate guitars and supersonic finger-tapping to rival the adept class of complex musicians of the day.
And if speed is what you desire, speed is what you shall receive. ‘Mulesing The Malformed’ metaphorically echoes the 1994 thriller. However in this case, Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock aren’t perilously guiding a passenger bus along a highway. Instead, it’s a 150-mph train barreling along a cliffside rife with hair-pin turns and unsteady surfaces.
‘Devoured By Eunuchs’ is a whiplasher that works in concert with ‘Mulesing…’ in its rapidity. There is an omnipresent utilization of pinch harmonics that take on a methodic identity as opposed to being thrown into the mix just for the sake of it.
Before Decadent Perversity drops its blood-spattered curtains, ‘Suicidal Masturbatory Flagellation’ puts a bow on this gift-wrapped slugfest. It’s not exactly what Twisted Sister ordered up when they wrote ‘S.M.F.’, but as has been outlined, this isn’t your grandfather’s album. (Though it would be quite gnarly to watch an octogenarian headbanging to this.)
Though the song names conjure themes of slam metal, DeathFuckingCunt dedicate more time and effort into the inner workings of the compositions as opposed to producing inhumane vocals. That’s not to say this album is entirely free of filthy imagery and proficient pestilence.
Okay, so it’s clearly not pop punk.
7 / 10
MATT COOK