Review: “Severed Beyond Recognition” by Crown Of Nails

Five days after the first anniversary of their debut EP “Portrait ov God“, Mexican Deathcore brutes Crown Of Nails have returned with a sophomore record. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Ash Araiza (Maximum Overdrive) the affair unites Pancho Killer and Seen My Funeral vocalist George Morto with former Beyond the Matrix drummer Hector Salgado and Witchspëll guitarist Gabriel Vera. Those three are armed intruders are joined by guitarist Agustín Bermúdez and bassist Gio Monzon with all five being lovers of blast beats, breakdowns and bullets… …and if you’re wondering, in our research we’ve been unable to decipher the code and unlock whether the band are named after the song by Signs Of The Swarm from 2019’s “Vital Deprivation” so if you have the answer to this mystery, you know what to do.

While Crown Of Nails describe themselves as a Deathcore band, in truth there is plenty of Death Metal in their sound as is evidenced by the pulsating, menacing and sinister opening cut  “Chop Chop!“. A blistering 90 seconds with a single bloodcurdling verse from Morto, it sends us all the way back 2010 and “The World Is Ours” by Upon A Burning Body, when that band were on the fierce forefront of a very different scene to the one they are on now. Even from such a short, violent outburst complete with police sirens, that Mexican flare is there and it opens up a world of pain with “Shotgun Lobotomy“. A crunchy, urgent affair that’s heavier than a bucket of nails, this one having a little Slam inspiration in the vocal department, the sample perfectly placed to set up the rampaging mid section with its fast Technical Death Metal orientated leads over powerful staccato riff breaks.

Title track “Severed Beyond Recognition” takes us back to My Space era Deathcore with a sample however rips off that band aid very quickly, the contrast of death growls and shriller parts from Morto giving the impression of two vocalists when there is in fact one. His range impresses on this one, the band bludgeoning the discerning listener to death with jack hammer footwork and disturbing riffs, a couple of hints at dark melancholic melodies acting as an undercurrent to the Deathcore blood an thunder. The pace and energy of all the songs on this record is electrifying with Crown Of Nails only really knowing one speed, the tempo of the damned. As a result by the time “Death Dealer” rolls up you might feel like you’ve taken one too many hits to the head but the ranting and raving vocal performance from Morto accompanied by the rumbling bass from Monzon is fearfully addictive. This one has more of a Metallic Hardcore vibe to it which makes for a nice variation and works incredibly well. The real surprise is the Melodic Death Metal soloing at the very start of “Deadly Silence” which takes us back to the early 2000’s an The Black Dahlia Murder. They’re utterly glorious on a track that shows a completely different side to the bands sound offering the potential for an evolution into something more powerful and thought provoking, if a little less fun [8/10]

Track Listing

1. Chop Chop!
2. Shotgun Lobotomy
3. Severed Beyond Recognition
4. Death Dealer
5. Deadly Silence

“Severed Beyond Recognition” by Crown Of Nails is out 5th February 2026.