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Death metal doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, sometimes the genre works most efficiently when all the atmospheric skin and conceptual trimmings are torn away, revealing the scabby, pulsing heart beneath. That seems to be Endless Torment’s approach, and while you could reasonably argue that something as straightforward and unrelenting as Black Blood adds little to the lexicon of death, its roots in the genre’s original outpouring of malevolence are so strong that it feels more like a raucous celebration of brutality than a ponderous tribute to other people’s ideas. The epic title track makes that point even more powerfully, with little bursts of weirdness offsetting the quartet’s streamlined attack and a core groove that wears its love of Slayer like a bloody badge of honour. More stirring proof that Australian metalheads prefer not to fuck about.

Dom Lawson has been writing for Metal Hammer and Prog for over 14 years and is extremely fond of heavy metal, progressive rock, coffee and snooker. He also contributes to The Guardian, Classic Rock, Bravewords and Blabbermouth and has previously written for Kerrang! magazine in the mid-2000s.