Thlurm bills itself as, “Metal Punk from the dungeons of Indiana,” which is quite an accurate description for their contribution to this month’s subscription. “The Thlurm Must Die and Dungeon Scum,” is part of Wise Blood Records demo series that highlights up and coming and promising new artists. This recording, combining 2 separate demos is raw and punk as fuck, covered in chunky layers of pure filth.
” Instantly you hear influences of Toxic Holocaust and Midnight and like those bands, Thlurm is a solo product brought to you by Austin Sipes. Thlurm though has a much more punk and grind approach to their style. Songs come in fast and filthy with a certain unpolished charm that is comparable to early Napalm Death. This recording reeks of the lo-fi production of the the mid to late 80’s.
The vocals are sick, the guitars have more of a punk then metal feel and the while the drumming does not include any blast beats, the first demo, “The Thlum Must Die,” is some killer Grindcore. “Disease,” is punk rock kick to the jaw and the following track, “Imaginary Hell,” is a straight up banger that reminds me of Ghoul.
The second demo, “Dungeon Scum,” is much more raw in sound than the first. This half shows more of a Black Metal influence which can be felt the most on “Serpent Master.” “Illusions of Chaos,” and “Human Waste,” even slow things down a bit with even adds more of a haunting vocal feel.
For a demo release, Thlurm are already a band to watch.