With a band name like Extremity I immediately think: wow, what a simple yet effective name for a death metal band. How is it even possible that no one thought of claiming that one? If this isn’t as heavy as the artwork or band name imply, I’ll be so pissed! Since I needed my daily dose of extreme music, it invited me to go and listen to Extremity‘s first full length album Coffin Birth.

First of all, the obligatory evil intro already lets you know that you’re about to get dragged down to hell. Apparently this is where the Coffin Birth happens in the story of this concept album. And then it hit me.. That sound! The guitars sound so dirty, and I mean that in a positive way. There’s so much bass and distortion, yet not in a way that you can’t make out those fast and groovy riffs.

But wait, after you’ve been thrown back to the early years of death metal by the sound of the instruments, in come those vocals. Simple yet effective: the death growl at it’s best, with lyrical content about aliens. What’s not to like?

Many bands try to record an album that sounds old school, whereas it just ends up being produced in such a way that you can tell it’s been polished in studio 2018-style. It’s not an easy thing to put the old school aggressive feel on record these days. And unless your band is Obituary or Bolt Thrower, fans of old school death metal will always be a bit skeptical about more recent bands. This being said, Extremity definitely knows how to capture that feel, taking all great elements of the genre to the next level.

OK, I agree. It’s all been done before. But if we, as death metal fans, love that sound, those riffs, those vocals and blastbeats, can we let bands like Extremity be the new wave of old school death metal? Yes, we can. I’m not using the words ‘death metal clichés’, because there are some details that make Extremity stand out. Interesting solos, down-tempo beats (I dare you not to headbang) and even some acoustic guitar blended into this wall of sound. While modern bands are still trying to be more evil and heavier, Extremity shows that we can still use old-school elements to capture pure death (metal) on CD. Less is more, I guess. Then, to top it off, there’s the artwork by Andrei Bouzikov, also known for his work for bands like Municipal Waste, Autopsy, Toxic Holocaust, …

In conclusion I would really recommend Extremity’s Coffin Birth to anyone who likes old school death metal, and wants to hear what this possible new standard could do for the genre.

Release date: July 7th, 2018
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Tracklist:
1. Coffin Birth/A Million Witches
2. Where Evil Dwells
3. Grave Mistake
4. Umbilicus
5. For Want Of A Nail
6. Occision
7. Like Father Like Son
8. Misbegotten/Coffin Death