Brace yourself, because this one is heavy. Midwest death metal wrecking crew Maul‘s debut full-length, Seraphic Punishment, is a slab of primitive, raw death metal that should put them at the top of the pile for younger death metal bands.
Seraphic Punishment is a well-rounded album. There are moments no-brain-cell headbanging and caveman riffs and there are moments of surprising technicality, but throughout it all there is a layer of filth and vigor that stands out in a crowded feel. Like the best of their peers, Maul aren’t reinventing the wheel but they are excellent craftsmen of the wheels we have that don’t need changing.
All that is to say: any death metal fan will dig what’s being put down on Seraphic Punishment. Vocalist Garrett Alvarado shares his perspective on the album:
“The writing process for the album began around March 2020, when our Monarchy of Mold EP release tour and much more were canceled due to the pandemic. We welcomed Al Nikolas to lead guitar at that same time and began grinding away at new material to end up staying busy which turned into a demo, live EP and a couple split releases over 2020/2021 while mostly just trying to maintain our own sanity.
“Now in July ’22, with shows and touring back in full force, we finally get to unveil everything we’ve grown into throughout the last five years with LP1 and show it to the world. Seraphic Punishment is a powerful representation of what we always wanted Midwest Death to convey. As it releases it’s an oddly comforting feeling yet anxious moment because with confidence and hunger I know we wrote a hellacious debut album we’re all proud of, while at the same time we know we’re still very much learning as we go and have a lot left to do with our existence.”
Seraphic Punishment hits the streets tomorrow, July 15, via Redefining Darkness. Maul will perform at the inaugural Into the Darkness fest later this month.