Years ago I was dead against downloading music whether legal or illegal and whilst I’ve held fast to my views on illegal downloading I have to say that I’ve become a sucker for the digital download. Especially with sites like Bandcamp where so many genres emerge from and so many albums are so cheap, often times even free! I’m not doing this opening statement as a marketing ploy for Bandcamp but these sites really are the future of music, as much as it pains me to say we must embrace the digital age.

One band whom are embracing such an age are the Canadian Death Metal band Brain Stem. These newbies to the scene formed in 2016 and it wasn’t until 2018 that the band unveiled their debut EP Symptoms Of Annihilation-Stage 1. The short sharp EP gave listeners a flare of what is to come, and as the name would suggest it would become the first in a series. The second EP in said series is predictably called Symptoms Of Annihilation-Stage 2. An independently released EP that the band hope will springboard their careers further.

The EP at least has no time for petty introductions and instead gets straight into the thick of it with Digitally Enshrined. Although I’m sorry to say that the production is very muted, there appears to be a lot of substance that just isn’t coming through the mix. What is left is average run of the mill Death Metal. Guttural yet not brutal vocals, standard riffs and drums and a whole lot more hidden in the muffled mix. The second track Sol Invictus gives us a bit more edge with some interesting guitar riffs that thankfully aren’t lost to the production. This song comes across with some decent songwriting potential but it’s still a touch on the generic side.

As we go into the second portion of the EP things pick up some more with The Unspoken Ire finally delivering some refreshing Death Metal. Vocal variation, moveable and interesting riffs finally become apparent and whilst it still isn’t the best Death Metal I’ve ever heard it’s at least enjoyable. The EP closes with Dawn Of Rot which is every bit as generic as one might expect, the EP appears bookended by uninspired tracks. Sure, this conclusion isn’t without the odd stemming from the chug riff pattern which flows throughout but it isn’t all that great.

I know I probably sound really harsh but I don’t mean to be. I don’t dislike this band or their sound it’s just all been done before. This is the sort of band that if they played my home town I’d be happy to go and support. Perhaps I’d even get a patch too, who knows. Yet I wouldn’t be rushing to hear their latest material or know about other shows they have coming up. Generic Death Metal I’m afraid, and whilst that isn’t bad, it isn’t great.

(5/10 George Caley)

https://www.facebook.com/BrainStemBand

https://brainstemmetal.bandcamp.com/album/symptoms-of-annihilation-stage-2