Goreaphobia

This Philly doom crew lives way underground. Like, two-full-lengths-in-13-years underground and best-known-for-a-'91-seven-inch-on-Relapse underground. But dwelling so far away from the normal folks makes for some great, grimy, filthy tunes. Goreaphobia may promise generic death metal with their moniker, but what they deliver is rooted in the disgusting atonal sounds of Autopsy, Incantation and Immolation. It's the darker side of death and the band deliver both mid-tempo death tunes, like the horns-to-the-sky "Darkstar Dementia," slightly faster polkas ("Totem of the Vulture") and major speedy ragers like "Sigil on Death's Hand" (and, clearly, a full round of awesome song titles), all with a suitably sludgy, thick production. "White Wind Spectre" actually gets a bit experimental; it's a nearly eight-minute, slow, atmospheric doom number that works. Throughout, the vocals are pretty goofy, but this is death metal, after all, so, no complaints. This is a breath of fresh air that might get overshadowed by releases like Autopsy's (excellent) comeback disc, but is still well worth checking out.