Release Date August 18th, 2026
Format CD/MC/Digital
Genre Slam/Death Metal
Origin New Zealand
Utilize The Remains formed in 2021, entering the New Zealand underground with a three track demo before releasing their debut full length, “Psychotic Abyss,” in 2023 through Slam Worldwide. Their activity soon extended beyond their home country, with a UK and European tour in 2024 that included an appearance at the Obscene Extreme Festival in the Czech Republic. Sharing stages with established death metal acts such as Obituary, Dying Fetus, Immolation and Devourment has placed the band in front of audiences closely connected to extreme metal. Their second full length, “Meaningless Existence,” continues their commitment to slamming death metal, drawing on apocalyptic imagery, crushing guitar riffs, guttural vocals and rhythms aimed at maximum physical impact.
“Meaningless Existence” offers low tuned guitar work, guttural vocal delivery and drum patterns built around sudden shifts between rapid bursts and slow, crushing slams. The production gives the guitars a thick, low end presence, while the drums provide much of the rhythmic variation through blast beats, double bass runs and abrupt changes in tempo. The vocals remain deep and grotesque, matching the album’s bleak lyrical themes of destruction and human collapse.
Songwriting follows the established slamming death metal formula, with repeated rhythmic figures and breakdowns taking priority over melodic development or elaborate arrangements. This approach suits the album’s intended brutality, although the recurring structures make several tracks run together, limiting the contrast across the full sequence. The musicians deliver the material with the physical intensity the style requires, particularly through the shifts from fast percussion to slower, groove centred sections. “Meaningless Existence” offers a competent dose of slamming death metal, with effective low end production and forceful performances, though its songwriting needs more variation to give the tracks greater individuality.
|7.8
Add comment
Comments