Review: “Summary Execution” by Bludgeoned

Once upon a time mob justice ruled the lands with angry gatherings of people armed with pitchforks, knives and axes baying for blood while claiming to be attending to Gods work. Their brand of justice nothing more than a bloodlust in which they convince each other of the guilt of a perceived perpetrator of a wrong doing without evidence or reason beyond hearsay and wild speculation that ends in a primitive, barbaric and lawless summary execution. These are the tales of which Washington State residents Bludgeoned speak on their debut EP, one which has already been praised by the bands peers in the likes of Matti Way (Abominable Putridity, Disgorge) and Constantine Chevardin (Traumatomy) to the point where the later sanctioned the physical release through his label Vile Tapes.

The story goes that vocalist Jonathan Huber (I Declare War, Pathology, Whitechapel) and guitarist Sean May (Covidectomy) found their ideal skin hammerer in Connecticut teenage YouTube sensation Nikhil Talwalkar (Anal Stabwound, Engulfed In Repugnance) after witnessing him in action, his famed drum cover ‘Suttee’ by Defeated Sanity recorded when he was aged just 15, getting the attention of their drummer Lille Gruber who himself described as “AMAZING!”. The trio formed officially in 2018 with a dedication to brutality and violence through Extreme Death Metal seeing each member of the band pushing themselves to new found heights before this November 2021 release landed its first killer blow. The calm before the storm comes in the melancholic and mournful “Ptolomea“, an introduction piece that gives a glimpse into the pain that is to come with Talwalkar’s unmistakeable jackhammer footwork creeping out from under the guitar work. The onslaught takes its true beastly form with the larynx-ripping vocals of Huber as “Circadian Servitude” takes us into full on Slamming Death Metal with a ferocious assault of blast beats and bone snapping Death Metal riffs in almost feral savagery, Huber being much like Michael ‘Chobba’ Crutchley of Suffer or Hayden Shemilt of Old Wharf in the way that his throat simply becomes another instrument for large parts of these cuts, the lyrics largely being unrecognisable. “Fading into Oblivion” then throws the bullets in the fire and cranks everything up a notch, Talwalkar’s metronomic percussive skills reaching trance enduing levels of… bludgeoning brilliance save only for the galloping “Pale Horse” which sees May produce genre trademark downtempo moments of pure filthy rapture to throw yourself into the pit to. He works the fretboard with smoking intensity and neck snapping tempo changes galore helping to make this as brutal a debut as they come and all that’s missing a few squeals and maybe the odd piece of lead during his tight and intricate rhythms to take it to the next level [7.5/10]

Track listing

1. Ptolomea
2. Circadian Servitude
3. Fading into Oblivion
4. Genocidal Processes
5. Pale Horse

“Summary Execution” by Bludgeoned is out in physical form via Vile Tapes on 10th February 2022 with pre-orders available here