Bludgeoned ‒ Summary Execution Review

Bludgeoned is a new brutal death metal band out of Washington State and, wait a sec…

The brutal variety of death metal has been around since Suffocation unleashed Human Waste on mankind over 30 years ago and we’re just now getting a brutal death band named Bludgeoned? That’s what brutal death metal does to the listener. It bludgeons them. They are left bludgeoned in its aftermath. There are a few other metal bands with this name but none in the most apt subgenre until now. Congrats, guys in the Washington State band Bludgeoned. You nailed the name game.

Anyway, this band was originally formed by two then-soon-to-be-but-now-former members of Covidectomy, and… I’m sorry, but, hold on again…

Has this nightmare pandemic really been raging so long that there are multiple former members of a band named Covidectomy?! Evidently so.

Back to the review for real this time. This band was formed by guitarist Sean May and drummer Michael Davidson (the now ex-Covidectomy guys) and vocalist Jonathan Huber (various gigs including live vocals for Whitechapel). Davidson already left, so they recruited Nikhil Talwalkar, the 16-year-old wunderkind behind Anal Stabwound (among many others). It’s a bit of a winding path (both in band membership and review words) to get to a simple debut EP, but the results were worth it. Summary Execution ‒ originally released in November but about to see physical release in February ‒ absolutely brings the brutal goods.

Talwalker might have the most notable pedigree among slam crowds thanks to his bonkers good 2021 output alone, but all three dudes absolutely put on a clinic on this EP. May’s riff style is both dizzyingly techy and groovingly, ignorantly slammy in all the best ways, helping to give the band a strong foundation closer to Defeated Sanity or scene founders Suffocation than, say, something as gooey as Devourment. “Circadian Servitude” takes barely 90 seconds to go from punchy arpeggio patterns and blasting to freakishly heavy trudges… twice, during which time May also gets smartass with some descending trill patterns and Huber shows off the strength of his deep gutturals and great squeal-screams.

Elsewhere the band gets extra demented with the tempo shifts and near-piggly-wiggly vocals (“Genocidal Processes”), adopts a touch of Decapitated breakneck groove and razor-sharp tremolo riffs (“Fading into Oblivion”), or lets Talwalkar show off his chops (creative fills all over the place, lightspeed kicks, generally inhuman abilities). Something cool and/or infectious is always happening on the not-quite 14 minutes of Summary Execution, and the urge to restart the EP immediately will be strong.

Bludgeoned slams, pummels, crawls, beats, blasts, squeals, and yes, bludgeons. Summary Execution has an impeccable production (just processed enough but crazy heavy) and is fun in all the ways great brutal, slamming death metal can be fun, all without sacrificing the kinds of riffs and drum patterns that make your head spin. Hopefully just a teaser for additional Bludgeoned/bludgeoning devastation, because this thing rules.