Expulsion

Nightmare Future

Arise to grind anew
dB rating: 9/10

Release Date: July 14, 2017
Label: Relapse

Word that extreme metal progenitor/Repulsion guitarist Matt Olivo was plotting an old-school death-grind set with Exhumed/Gruesome trailblazer Matt Harvey likely pricked up the ears of many sub-subgenre obsessed maniacs. However high your individual expectations are set, though, go ahead and ratchet ’em up much, much further, because the result of that unholy union, Expulsion, is ridiculously, brutally on point—a rousing revival of a sound that, while indeed legacy-affirming and glorious, instantly and continuously eradicates any fears of a ho-hum legacy victory lap or halfhearted glory chasing. The first three tags on the “For Fans of” breakdown tacked onto the end of the Relapse promo sheet—Repulsion, Terrorizer, Nasum—actually offer a pretty solid summation of what awaits listeners of Nightmare Future—i.e. Horrified-meets-World Downfall ore refined, polished and distilled by a process very similar to the one that produced sharp, full-bodied Repulsion-inspired modern day grind classics like Helvete and Shift.

In short, Nightmare Future is many times more bewitching and delectable than a record boasting song titles such as “Total Human Genocide,” “Altar of Slaughter” and “Funeral Bells” has any earthly right to be, and the sheer number of killer riffs, hairpin turns and vitriolic bon mots Expulsion manages to shoehorn into 14 minutes is a feat in and of itself. As the band—rounded out brilliantly by Intronaut/Phobia drummer Danny Walker and Lightning Swords of Death bassist Menno Verbaten—kills and kills again, you will spin and spin again. Olivo and Harvey won’t flip the script on the metal scene again with this project, but Nightmare Future sure as hell is going to set a lot of fires wherever the wind takes it.

— Shawn Macomber

This review taken from the August 2017 issue. Nightmare Future is available for pre-order from Relapse.

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