Storming the UK underground metal scene are Kentish death metal ensemble Infected Dead, a quintet who, since their conception in 2016, have seen their musical career take off in leaps and bounds. Since their first few shows less than two years ago, the band have gone on to win the Metal to the Masses competition, play at Bloodstock, be signed by Hostile Media, and have now released their first full-length EP; Archaic Manevolence. The EP is a wickedly weighty collection of some of the finest (and most extreme) metal to come out of the UK in recent years.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, as the old adage goes, something which Infected Dead have clearly put to work throughout Archaic Manevolence. The EP follows the same basic stylings which many contemporary death metal bands have adopted, with The Black Dahlia Murder coming to mind in particular. Through this, Infected Dead have been able to immediately define themselves as a band capable of producing crushingly heavy music, while having enough room to add their own signature twists and flourishes.
Title track “Archaic Manevolence” encapsulates this, all the while managing to be a truly intense experience. The track begins at a thundering pace and refuses to let up for even an instance, beating you in to submission from the word go. There are so many things done right within this track that it deserves a feature in its own right! Allow me to to share some of the highlights though: lightning quick, clean guitar riffs, chunky, low bass notes, punishingly fast blastbeats, and dueling screamed vocals. Excuse me a moment, I need to catch my breath and regain composure from exposure to such an attractive collection of heavy metal.
Infected Dead are a band already well on their way to heavy metal greatness, and Archaic Manevolence simply goes to cement that fact. Get your ears wrapped around this EP as quickly as you can and allow yourself to be at the whim of Infected Dead’s barbarity.
Archaic Manevolence is out now and available to order here.
