Sporadic Slaughter is a death metal band from the UK that formed back in 2004. This band may be young but they are armed with a solid production job and the ability to write a damn good song. This alone will take them places if they make the right moves. While listening it is by no means difficult to envision these guys rising up and slaying the majority of the competition. The main thing that jumps out upon first listen is the variety. These guys manage to dish out a whole smorgasbord of death metal stylings in an 11 minute burst. Anybody with the ability to grasp an instrument can attempt this but not many succeed. At any rate it is evident when listening that Sporadic Slaughter took the time to go about mastering these stylistic shifts enough to make them cohesive. This factor alone is very impressive and has been the driving force that has kept me coming back.
The guitar playing throughout is excellent. The band maneuvers through tremolo sections, groove filled moments and fairly chaotic explosions with ease. Even with multiple of these major transitions throughout there is never even the slightest drop in momentum. The vocal approach here is pretty standard. There's the typical bellowing low and also some raspy, tortured shrieks. Nothing too special but they are delivered in a way that will keep the listener interested for the brief runtime. The lyrical themes may be a surprise to some (considering the band name). Science, space and religion are discussed on Thoughts on Our Significance. While the lyrics are fairly thought provoking for the most part the anti-religious anthem Devolution of Consciousness caught my attention the most. I tend to find scathing religion to be a bit of a tired theme in metal, but Sporadic Slaughter actually managed to write up something that didn't come across as a pointless rehash of what we've heard from countless other metal bands.
Overall Sporadic Slaughter has brought a more than worthy EP to the table. The well thought out song structures and writing in general puts this a step above the typical bands sporting this sort of sound. It does seem that they still have some work to do in terms of finding their own sound, with that being said it doesn't prevent this EP from packing one hell of a punch. Although the band does have a slightly more modern approach it is clear that they have some roots in the old school. Recommended for all fans of death metal. It's only 11 minutes, what's there to lose?
