Review: “The Hierarchical Ecological Succession: Welcome to the Food Chain!” By Troglodyte

Battering audiences since 2005’s “Anthropoid Effigy” as the creation of special effect artist,  music video director and vocalist mastermind  Jeff Sisson in homage to all things Bigfoot, the creature features of the 70’s and 80’s and classic Death Metal, the six years long awaited return of Independence Missouri’s Troglodyte is one that finally sees Origin bassist Mike Flores make his studio debut for the band having played a wealth of live shows with the five piece over the years. A fourth album in all, this one has reached the upper echelons of the highly anticipated in part thanks to a trio of well placed guest vocal appearances, a deal with Nuclear Blast imprint label Blood Blast Distribution and the glorious cover art, not to mention thar both Michael Langner and Brandon Mitchell from Torn The Fuck Apart are both in the current incarnation of the band…

…Blending elements of Grindcore and Thrash into their Death Metal meat grinder, Troglodyte charge headlong into “What’s Eating You?” with classic Grindhouse movie asthetics, crushingly satisfying groove laden riffage and the kind of vocal grating that makes all the lyrics perfectly decipherable while still being blood spittingly venomous. Sisson’s storytelling style is of the dark campfire variety and “Speed Kills” tells the strange tale of a truck driver hitting Big Foot and then Big Foot stealing his truck as he looked for something to drag what he thought was the corpse into a nearby town with Brent Purgason adding cleaner vocal parts to Sisson’s throaty roar. It may not be what you might term comedy Metal in style but it’s is hilarious none the less, at times as if early Lamb Of God are playing Municipal Waste covers with Sisson sounding like Big Foot himself. Each cut is a rampage of assured ear drum destruction with metronomic blasts perferating some classic Death Metal fills in what is an absolute master class from behind the kit. If you ever wondered what might happen if your took some hallucinagenics and watched a classic 80s horror movie come to life then “Sasquashed (Bigfoot Crank Stomp)” is a cautionary tale of the finest order as Shawn Knight adds the narrative to the storyline in fine fashion and you can’t help crack a smile as you bang your head to it. Don’t anger the beast, it’s going to tear the place apart and you limb from limb. The lyrics have been so well thought out and put together that Quentin Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez could actually pick them up and use them as the basis for their next gore filled blockbuster, a sick sense of humour and a strong stomach are a basic requirement. The skull battering of “Assault by Cleft Foot Malformation Trampled Under (Big)Foot” is the blunt force trauma that everyone needs in their life with some blistering riffs to bring it to a dust and bones ending before the brief drum solo in “Thin the Herd” adds something fresh while also having plenty of menacing drive and riffs that Kerry King would be proud to call his own. Literally the only thing missing is the whammy bar drop solo striking like a lightening bolt from a wrathful God. The first single and grand finale that is “Meat Your Maker” sees Sisson and Ross Sewage have a Death Metal growl off of the finest order to see just who can reach the lowest of the bowel clenching lows in a barnstormer of a cut that simply leaves you wanting more. Fortunately they have a trio of other albums to sink your teeth into [8/10]

Track listing

1. What’s Eating You?
2. Speed Kills (ft. Brent Purgason aka Pustulus Maximus of GWAR)
3. Found Guilty In A Wrongful Death Lawsuit For Shooting A Man Wearing A Bigfoot Costume
4. Sasquashed (Bigfoot Crank Stomp) (ft. Shawn Knight of Child Bite, Shock Narcotic)
5. DAYTLOV – Снежный человек
6. Assault by Cleft Foot Malformation Trampled Under (Big)Foot
7. Thin the Herd
8. Meat Your Maker (ft. Ross Sewage of Exhumed, Ghoul, Impaled)

“The Hierarchical Ecological Succession: Welcome to the Food Chain!” By Troglodyte is out 5th March 2022 via Blood Blast Distribution and is available over at bandcamp