2013
Now that my friends is what I would call one sweet-ass LP cover! As I was scrolling down through promo after promo this one caught my eye and it's easy enough to see why! One look at that gorgeous album cover, which was masterminded by Jason Barnett (Noothgrush, etc.), and I just knew that I needed to hear "Gratum Inferno". While my first thought was "That is the coolest shit ever!" (album-art wise), which I realize I'm babbling on about, it was quickly followed up by "Man, I hope the music is half as good as that art". That was/is a legitimate fear as I'm old enough to remember flipping through new vinyl releases/cassette releases and buying albums based solely on the cover art. Back then, and we're talking mid-eighties to early-nineties, it was not all that uncommon to buy an album, take it home and then, upon playing it, realize that you got burned. So, as I settled in (with notepad in one hand and coffee in the other) to listen to "Gratum Inferno", I hoped for the best. This full-length release, which was promised to be "Stockholm-bred but Americanized death", is actually the debut album for Dallas-based Cleric. The band, which really is death metal through and through (and good death metal at that!), was formed by members of Kill the Client, Baring Teeth and Tyrannosorceress. On this 7-track release, which is due for release on colored vinyl, the members of Cleric terrorize the listener with nearly a half-hour of aggressive, piss and venom death metal that is as fun as the album's front-cover suggests! This young death metal act will receive quite the treatment at the hand's of Dallas-based Tofu Carnage Records. I'd say that Cleric is more then deserving of such honor as this album, while admittedly not a drop-dead brilliant debut, is full-on death metal done with style and grace. These guys are a class act even if we are technically talking about death metal that will rip your head off and then feast on the bloody remains of your dying body! As previously mentioned this full-length debut album from Cleric, which was recorded by Garry Brents (Kill The Client, Phobia, Noisear) and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (From Ashes Rise, Nails, Sleep), will receive the royal treatment from independent label Tofu Carnage Records. Known as a label that gives careful attention to every aspect of their vinyl releases (the label has previously released quality vinyl records for the likes of Dead To A Dying World, Akkolyte, Unconscious Collective and Ecocide) the fine folks at Tofu Carnage Records sound as if they have outdone themselves when it comes to "Gratum Inferno". This LP (per the promo) is "pressed on 200-gram, translucent yellow wax with blood red and milky clear splatter and features heavyweight spot-varnish printed jackets, gold foil-stamped inner-sleeve graphics, and was mastered at 45rpm for superior sound quality. This is an album that was truly meant for vinyl". Now that sounds freaking awesome! And all of that fuss is over a relatively new name to the death scene! But, as I said before, this Dallas-based death metal act more then deserves it I figure. This is high-quality, unfiltered for quality taste, beautifully-constructed and executed death metal that is a treat for your eardrums! For more information check out the group's Facebook page below. .
https://www.facebook.com/666cleric666
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