Bastard Priest

With a moniker like Bastard Priest, an album titled Ghouls of the Endless Night and a press sheet that describes them as "whore-filth death metal," plus the fact that the duo are from Sweden, how can their music be half bad? In actuality, it's pretty damn incredible. With the odds stacked in their favour, Bastard Priest manage to surpass expectations with their blend of '80s-inspired old school death metal and crust punk. The short, eight-track Ghouls of the Endless Night, their follow-up to 2010's Under the Hammer of Destruction, screams Dismember and Autopsy, but with more grime and vile putridity. "Pestilent Force" and the title track start the album off with raw, dominating riffs, and "Enter Eternal Nightmare" features intense drum work. Dark, cacophonous rhythms continue throughout, particularly on the doom-y "Poison" and demon-invoking closing track "Enormous Thunder of the End." This is what a slow, torturous death sounds like.