![Maimed album cover](https://www.decibelmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/coverfinalreal-820x820.jpg)
Maimed is a brutal death metal project with collaborators in Wales and the USA paying homage to the genre’s earliest days. With lyrics focused on medieval torture, battle, and murder, the album name Torrential Gore appropriately drips with blood. Picture influences like Baphomet and Suffocation. mixed with the themes of Brodequin or a gorier version of Caducity. On October 1st they dropped a succinct four-song EP, available on CD and cassette through Sewer Rot Records. To celebrate the gruesome release, guitarist Tom Hughes and vocalist Kyle Messick offered Decibel insight into each of the EP’s repulsive tracks.
Press play on the tracks below and read along to each limb-shattering riff from Maimed.
Track 1: “Torrential Gore”
Tom Hughes: All of the songs came together really quickly. I tend to write in the mornings and let riffs flow out one after another. So once I had the triplets on this, the rest just followed based on the feeling needed to change each section. The only parts that were consciously written were the beat-down. There, I wanted to keep it in the classic brutal death tradition without being too modern or slam. There was also the solo section, which I knew needed to be ripping. So I enlisted the help of longtime friend David Gallear, who I played with in local thrash bands as a teenager.
Kyle Messick: I really enjoy lyrics that tell a story, so this is one of several epic tales on the EP. Lyrically, this song is about the brutal siege of a castle and its inhabitants, which climax in a battle between the opposing champions. Although the city’s inhabitants were largely slaughtered, its defending ruler manages to slay the enemy combatants and continue to stand tall amongst the carnage, having defended the city from opposing conquest.
Track 2: “Sledgehammer”
TH: This was my Mortician-worship song. No frills or elaborate parts, just a few chunky riffs going back to back and not outstaying their welcome. Dedicated to all the guitar snobs that hate caveman riffs!
KM: This is a short, in-your-face song, so we knew it should follow the opening track. I also knew that I wanted it to have catchy lyrics and fun vocal patterns. I find songs that overuse choruses get stale fast, but sometimes they’re fun. So I have a chorus repeated once on this and the final track. It’s a simple and to-the-point song, so lyrically it’s also pretty straight-forward. It’s about mashing people into piles of meat with a sledgehammer. That’s it. That’s the song.
Track 3: “Flesh Sculpture”
TH: This was the first song I wrote for the EP. It was the statement of intent as far as having simple heavy riffs for the verses with lead-driven chorus sections that left enough space for Kyle to do his thing. My main goal was to write a heavy project that was old school in sound but forward-thinking. That said, I also wanted to develop my songwriting. On songs like this I’m using standard pop song structure to make clear distinctions between each part.
KM: This one is a more brutal track, with an especially hard-hitting slammy bit. This was the first one I worked with Tom on, and so it evolved a bit as we found our identity as a band. Lyrically it’s about a jester who has a sick sense of parodying the human form (a jest, if you will), so he creates sculptures by carving into people and melting their flesh. Macabre art.
Track 4: “Blood on the Ice”
TH: This was the final song I wrote, probably about a month after I started working on the EP. It’s also my favorite performance from the other guys in the band. Kyle’s vivid lyrics really elevate my riffs, and the way Justin adds groove to sections and uses cymbal accents really makes this song for me. The verse build up was inspired by Glen Benton and the evil way he would layer his voice on tracks like “Sacrificial Suicide.”
KM: When Tom sent me this track, I was immediately struck by the chorus and pre-chorus buildup, so I knew I wanted to do my best to help turn the track into a catchy anthem. I love lyrics that are visual. So for the story on this one, I described a frozen, winter night for a vengeful murder to take place. The contrast of red blood on white is always striking. The lyrics describe a man seeking revenge towards someone he swore a grudge against long ago. To accomplish the act, he took his time to craft a mystical blade that he knew would aid him in the near-ritualistic slaughter of his sworn enemy. The man is obsessed with vengeance; it is a sickening desire that dominates his every breath. So when he finds his prey, he is frantic in exacting his vengeance, covering the ice in increasing amounts of blood as the song continues. I similarly wanted to end the song with a long, especially frantic scream, like what Cannibal Corpse used to end “They Deserve to Die,” and something wild, even if doesn’t reach the greatness of Lord Worm on “Open Face Surgery.” I also want to acknowledge how incredible Justin’s drumming is on this song, which I think really brings it to the next level with creative fills and beats throughout.