A brutal death metal album with a beautiful cover? Consider me intrigued by the contrast alone.
And maybe this is a ridiculous example, considering the rawness of bands like Repudilation and Scattered Remnants.
But brutal death metal has evolved significantly since the release of the iconic ‘90s records from the aforementioned bands. Exhibit A: listen to any New Standard Elite release. But I digress. While BDM continues to resonate most strongly with those of us who drag our knuckles, some folks are adding at least some IQ points to the tunes, respectfully. Look no further than Garry Brents, mastermind behind the proggy/technical brutal death metal project Sallow Moth, now out with a fresh release.
First and foremost, I must say…Willowtip was the perfect label to drop the project’s new record Hydrophilous Brood. Garry certainly channels the spirit of the label’s early roster — bands like Defeated Sanity, Harakiri, and Kalibas. The latter of which I hear quite a bit in the vocal arrangements. See “Distended in Panglacial Advent,” for example. The song is also filled with dissonant arpeggios, malignant gurgles, and even some cosmic clean tones at the halfway point — very much in the vein of Long Island, New York’s Artificial Brain. And perhaps similar to Wormed or Mortal Decay, Sallow Moth follows a similar approach in throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the listener. Each riff within the songs, while similar, don’t necessarily circle back around. In their purest forms, they’re used really just once with slight variations — “Driftmoth Vivisector” follows that formula, most notably, to my ears. The beginning and end sound like cousins rather than siblings. In essence, they’re distinct enough to maintain their noticeable uniqueness.
In terms of the progressiveness of Hydrophilous Brood, Brents sprinkles bits and pieces of Cynic’s Focus throughout, but most prominent on a track like “Biohybrid Virulence” which comprises super sick jazz chords and intricate dissonant death metal passages. Speaking of which, you’ll hear that and then some on the closer “Serene Aqueous Leech,” throwing in actual jazz bars bestowing a beautiful horn section.
If you’re a fan of just straight gut-punching brutal death metal in the vein of Deeds of Flesh, you’ll enjoy the title track and “Nebulous Appendages of Vacillant Seafoam.” Like a maze, both tracks twist and turn between blastbeats and chaotic fret work. And another thing I’ll add here is that Garry’s addition of a live drummer (Allen Gingerich) rather than programming, without a doubt, boosted the record’s presence. Admittedly, I prefer live drummers, but objectively, this one is noticeably heavier and more natural than 2025’s Mossbane Lantern. And when you include the tranquil sounds of bubbling water — see “Arcane Benthic Umbilicus” — it just makes sense to give the album a more natural sound, right? That track slays, too, by the way.
As a die-hard fan of brutal death metal, I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t acknowledge the genre’s tendency to stagnate. It’s a challenge to distinguish between bands at times, for sure. However, I believe Sallow Moth does enough to distance itself from that cliché. Not only is it different than the year’s heavy hitters from Trichomoniasis, Ecchymosis, and all the other –osis bands, Hydrophilous Brood is just as good. Point blank, it’s a must listen, especially if you’re into the whole swamp-humanoid-moth-monster thing.
All in all, Sallow Moth proves that sometimes being drawn to the flame of weirdness doesn’t always end in disaster, rather in one of the year’s best brutal death metal records.
And, no, that isn’t a Metallica reference.
