Hailing from New York, MUTILATE are literally a blast from the past. Sounding as if time stopped some 30 years ago, this quartet create crude 'n' rude black-cum-death metal that was only brewed in the darkest dungeons of the underground circa 1987. As such, they aesthetically nod to the likes of Death Strike, Helllhammer, Nunslaughter, and Goatlord (U.S.) as well as the torchbearers that came after those pioneers during the '90s like Acheron, Usurper, Gravewurm, and Sathanas. It's stripped-down and simple, and unapologetically so, and done with absolute belief and total authenticity. Trend-mongers likely can't tolerate Tormentium, but MUTILATE never made this kind of record - or any record, really - for them. Theirs is a cult, and unselfconsciously so since their Fortress of Suffering debut demo last year. Tormentium is simply a longer/stronger consolidation of their sound, as it should be. If you are a false, do not entry MUTILATE's Tormentium!