ANCIENT MALIGNITY "Dehumanization Dawn" 12"

Hailing from Nevada, Ancient Malignity made their public debut in 2020 with a self-titled full-length, courtesy of Inhuman Assault. The rabid assault of Ancient Malignity might've been unexpected - or, rather, unsuspecting - if it weren't for the power-trio's other concurrent bands, which include labelmates Triumph and Ritual Genocide. While Ancient Malignity's barbarity stacks up well next to those two bestial hordes, theirs has even deeper grounding in extremist DEATH METAL - and they've eclipsed that feat with their second album, Dehumanization Dawn. \n \nLike a lost relic from the mid-to-late '90s, Ancient Malignity's second album surges and slices with both palpitating precision and gangrenous gnarliness. Those maniacs out there who hold high the torch of such old gods as Order From Chaos, Imprecation, Sacramentary Abolishment, America's Crucifier, old Vital Remains, and earliest Kataklysm should find red-eyed solace in the blitzed & bleary decibels on display across Dehumanization Dawn. Even the production itself sounds era-authentic - dank, dingy, and dungeoned, but no less muscular - and while tones and ​textures can form a solid foundation for many a death metal record, it's the hands of those who build that ​noble foundation that matter most: Ancient Malignity thus duly excel at the art of labyrinthine-yet-linear songwriting, making Dehumanization Dawn a most enticing spelunk among ancient corridors.