Drawn and Quartered - Merciless Hammer of Lucifer (2007)

It's funny, Drawn and Quartered are almost better at sounding like Immolation than Immolation. For some reason or another D&Q have yet to ascend from their lowly "second tier" status. Actually, I don't even think they've made it that far, in terms of mass-awareness and acknowledgement. It's a shame too, because they're quite the airtight unit and I've heard far less deserving bands getting shameful amounts of praise within the last few years. I've heard complaints that they sound too similar to Immolation. Well, whoopty fuckin' doo. You know what? Good! I'm glad they sound like Immolation! Immolation hasn't sounded like Immolation in quite a long time (well, that's not entirely true), so it's good to see someone grab the baton and keep it movin'.

With a name like Drawn and Quartered, I'm actually surprised that they write riffs that sound as evil as they do. Drawn and Quartered sounds more like a "gore" band or something. Yes, D&Q write some supremely evil sounding shit that sits perfectly alongside the likes of Incantation, Coffin Texts and, of course, Immolation. There is some really dissonant shit going on here, which is undoubtedly where the Immo comparisons come into play. These are the sort of dissonant riffs that nightmares are made of. Not like the pseudo-intellectual artsy-fartsy, new age nerd riffs ala Ulcerate. This is the kind of music that brings to mind Satanic cults in Untermyer Park, sacrificing Doberman Pinschers and whatnot.

If there's one complaint I have with this band it's the ridiculously retarded cover art that they persist on using for each album. Apparently the artist is one of their homeboys or something because this guy's shit has graced each and every one of their albums to date. Believe me, there is nothing abstract or "cutting edge" about allowing a drunken retard baby to adorn your album cover with smeared pastel and poopy extracted from his diaper. I don't care how much weed you smoke.