Gathered together for your aural annihilation, Gallery Of Torment is a compilation of Death Metal delights from Maul.

Maul came together four years ago or so in the northern plains. Plying the Death metal trade with an eye to individualization, the band has laid down steady tracks with demos, splits and EPs. This new collection gathers together enough breadcrumbs so you can hear what the band is about. Currently, Maul is Anthony Lamb (guitar), Alex Nikolas (guitar), Garrett Alvarado (vocals), Robby Anderson (drums), and Michael Nikolas (bass).

The compilation has twelve songs altogether with four tracks from Monarchy of Mold (2020), two each from Midwest Death Demo (2018), Deity Demise (2020), and Soaked in Penance, Solicit the Torture (2018), and one each from Ambiguous Lurk (2019) and Adoration Through Annihilation (2019). That covers a lot of ground and gathers together the principle components from these earlier releases (and the whole thing in the case of the single “Ambiguous Lurk”).

There is a good deal of variety in the music. The opening track, for example, “Chained, Hanged, and Dragged,” has a military march feel to it in the opening riffs that kick in after the intro and the urging percussion is matched nicely to doom sensibilities. “Infatuation” has a more all-encompassing vibe to it, while “Monarchy of Mold” goes off in an eerie direction. There is a lot here to engage you.

My favorites are “Same Soil” – I really like the driving directness – and “Deity Demise” – the heavy, pulverizing approach had me running that track a few times. Gallery Of Torment is an excellent way to catch up on Maul if you have not been following the trail so far. It is Death Metal that leans more on the heavy than the speed. Recommended.

The album drops on Friday, May 28^th in versions from four different publishers including Hostile Records (Malaysia, Asia cassette version), Frozen Screams Imprint (US, cassette version), Cavernous Records (UK, CD version), and Corrupted Flesh Records (Germany, EU cassette and LP versions). Bandcamp is a good place to search for these varieties.

Links.

Corrupted Flesh Bandcamp, https://corruptedfleshrecords.bandcamp.com/album/gallery-of-torment

Maul Bandcamp, https://maul701.bandcamp.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/MAULND/