Securing members with impressive pedigrees can never be a hindrance for an up-and-coming band. Even if said fledgling act doesn’t sound exactly like its member’s other projects, it always informs potential listeners of what could be in store. Oakland-based newcomers Extremity is fleshed out with individuals who all currently reside, or have spent time, in a number of influential underground bands. Extremity was initially a side hustle for guitarist Shelby Lermo (Vastum) and drummer Aesop Dekker (Worm Ouroboros, Ludicra, Agalloch, VHÖL). But once the duo decided to take things more seriously, Marissa Martinez-Hoadley (Cretin, Repulsion), and Erika Osterhout (Necrosic, Trepanation) were enlisted to fill out the clan.
With Extremity’s member’s stellar resumes, it is a safe inference that whatever they create is gonna be something next level for death metal. Enter their rotting slab of a debut Extremely Fucking Dead. If the record’s cover depicting two greying severed heads sharing looks of unequivocal indignation doesn’t help you anticipate the album’s carrion dripping vibrations, song titles like “Chalice Of Pus” will certainly let you know Extremity is not slinging campfire songs about romantic sunsets.
Extremely opens with ominous, rising, creepy tones and a sample of the infamous Fred Gwynne quote from the 1989 film adaptation of Pet Sematary, “Sometimes…dead is better.” A fitting intro before the death metal hack and splatter that follows. The record swiftly drops into “Crepuscular Crescendo,” a heavy nod to late ’80s/early ‘90s Swedish death metal: thick overdriven tones, grisly hooks and melodic guitar solos that cut through the muck. Those qualities are essentially the main vein of influence that runs throughout the record’s six offerings. Tracks like “Bestial Destiny” and “Fatal Immortality” also trot out a confrontational war metal hammering a la Bolt Thrower. Tempos jump from blistering to dragging.
Extremity has gone the route of measured brutality instead of speed and dexterity in their death metal style. The result is weighty, bludgeoning and dreadful. Albeit a succinct record, Extremely Fucking Dead gets the job done in its 27 minute run time. It will have you believing in degrees of death before the record (literally) flatlines.